Pressing Onwards
by Fayth3
Summary: Sequel to Moving Alongside. Focuses on the various other transgenics of the Left Behind Universe.
1. An Englishman in New York

Okay this is where we start.

This is the Sequel to Moving Alongside, the parallel to Moving Ahead. This is also the parallel to Surging Forward which is the sequel to Moving Ahead. Moving Ahead is the sequel to Left Behind. Confused?

Good, you have some idea of where I am coming from.

* * *

**Pressing Onward** ---

**An Englishman in ****New York**********

Her eyes slowly fluttered open, taking far more energy than would usually be used and as the blackness faded to muted colour, she immediately panicked when she didn't recognise her surroundings.

Drew sat up quickly and had to wait as the world spun around her in dizzying circles; she grabbed hold of her stomach and then glanced down as she felt soft bandages under her fingers. Clean white bandages that implied that someone had taken the time and care to change them recently.

She probed them and any injuries with her hands and was relieved to find that she wasn't that badly hurt as she had imagined.

When Manticore had gone down in a hail of flames and fury she had been caught under the collapsing infrastructure and had almost bled to death, not to mention her broken leg… which apparently wasn't as broken as she thought.

Drew glanced down at her leg, not totally surprised to see it in a splint and swathed in bandages. It seemed like she was among friends at least. She raked a hand through her hair feeling the long dark strands still slightly matted and snarled; a bad case of bed head. But that she could live with, although she'd kill for a hot shower.

Drew glanced around at the unfamiliar room with its pale pink walls and rosewood décor. It was far too feminine for Manticore or any room that she would have grown up in or even decorated herself.

Drew swallowed and waited for the dizziness to disappear before she laid her bare feet on the plush carpet, feeling the tickly threads under her toes.

"Whoa, whoa!"

Drew's head shot up— although with the nausea that followed, she wished she hadn't— to see someone standing in the door staring down at her in consternation.

The thick, brawny man wasn't familiar to her with his dusty brown hair liberally threaded with grey and white strands. She placed his age at the wrong side of fifty and he wore tatty clothes that barely fit his overweight frame. In any other light he would have been classed as a threat, but the kindness showing in his dancing grey eyes and sincere smile eased her. Slightly. After all she was soldier and paranoia and suspicion made for a long and healthy life.

"Wh—" she had to clear her throat. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ed and you need ta lay down sweetheart, you're in no shape to be walkin' around."

"I'm fine," she said but even she could tell that her words were slurred, much to her chagrin.

"Right!" he drawled in his thick accent as he walked into the room, almost filling it with his bear-like presence. "Honey, you're no more fine than I am a supermodel. Now just you relax."

Drew bit back a laugh at the image of this man in supermodel gear and eased back on the soft bed. Her eyes flew open as memories assaulted her.

Fire, explosions, gunfire. Manticore under attack or… no, Max said that it was command that was hurting them. Did Max manage to make it out, did any of them?

"Man—, my friends," she amended, not sure if this old man had seen what had happened or had just discovered her in the woods whilst on a midnight stroll. "What happened?"

Ed pulled a blanket over her, "Far as I can tell, that rat trap of a torture chamber burned to the ground. And good riddance to it!"

"You know Manticore?" Drew frowned. She always assumed that the place was a highly kept secret.

Ed chuckled, "Honey I've been games keeper to these woods for more years'n you been alive. Before that I did a stint in the military myself. I seen what's gone on down there. And it ain't no veteran hospital that's for damn sure!"

"What?"

"S'all over the news," Ed affected an accent. "Last week in an accident caused by faulty wiring a Veteran's facility burned down resulting in untold casualties just south of Seattle. Pha!" Ed waved in disgust. "Veteran hospital, my ass."

"Last week?" Drew paused, her mind racing at this unexpected news. "How long have I been here?"

"I pulled you outta the woods the night o'the explosion; a week ago to the day. Am glad that place is charred ruins now, honey. They can't hurt you anymore."

A week?

"Shit, Dek must be frantic."

Ed stared at the girl that lay on the pink bedspread. Her long dark haired framed her pale face with its angular but perfect features. She was a beauty, even with her fading bruises and matted hair. Plus with the injuries that she had had, well, it was plain that she was a fighter or she wouldn't be laying there alive.

"Couldn't say, honey. Don't know any Dek, didn't see no one but you. Oh plenty made it out, but ya'll move too fast for me to see. Especially in the dark. I only caught ya coz you was hurt. I fixed ya up good but you need to rest. You're safe here as much as anywhere."

"Why are you helping me?" she demanded tiredly not sure if she cared about the answer. All she knew was that this man had helped her and he didn't seem to offer her any harm right now. That was good enough for her until she could think straight again… and being able to walk further than the bedpost would be an advantage.

Ed's eyes darkened, "No matter what people say you are; children who're forced to kill afore they can walk just ain't natural. Children who get punished for not being fast enough or aggressive jus' ain't right. I seen one little guy, no bigger'n a toddler get whupped for dropping a gun he had no right holding in the first place." Ed shivered. "I support everyone a ya that got out. Let Ed take care a ya for a while. Sleep."

Drew nodded and settled back in the cushions, her mind a whirl with the new information. No more Manticore, No Dek. Had they all made it out? Were they safe?

Where were they all?

----

"Just a few more clicks," Flex said and his cargo groaned.

"You said that a few clicks ago!"

Flex exchanged amused glances with Skye.

"What are you complaining about; I'm the one lugging your heavy ass around!"

His cargo giggled and Flex groaned, "Okay, pit stop!"

He pulled the child off his back and laid him on the floor before sagging and dropping to the ground himself.

"Sir, I'm hungry!"

"And me!"

"Me, too!"

"Me three," Flex grumbled and buried his face in his arms. "How did I get lumbered with babysitting?"

Skye shrugged and Flex looked up worried. She hadn't said much all week. Not that he expected her to be Ms. Chatty after seeing her brother shot down in front of her, but quiet from Skye wasn't what he was used to. Insults and sass, yes. Silence, no.

Flex pushed himself up and rolled over to check the young boy's bandages.

"Hey Isacar, I think you're almost healed!" Flex grinned at the icy blond, "That means you can walk yourself!"

"Great," Isacar deadpanned and then poked out his tongue at his sister who giggled. "Hush up, Icarus."

"You kids okay?" Flex asked the other three children that he had acquired somehow.

The youngest was a dark haired X8R, a second generation X8 barely old enough to walk properly let alone carry a gun. He seemed to be attached to Skye and wouldn't let go of her hand. No matter how many times Flex suggested that he carry him for a while or that he walk with the other children, the little boy refused to leave Skye's side. And for once Skye didn't seem to mind. It was like she didn't even notice.

"Not a kid," pouted the other boy in their entourage.

"701, you're younger than me therefore you're a kid," Isacar teased and the boy glared.

He had short spiky dark hair and was a bundle of energy, bouncing off up ahead to scout and running back faster than even Flex thought he could manage. He made Flex feel old just trying to keep up with his frantic topic jumping and endless questions.

"Not!" the boy poked out his tongue and growled, as quick tempered as he was fast-footed.

"Cut it out!" Flex demanded, "I am too tired to deal with that Isacar and… and," he paused. "I can't keep calling you 701."

"Don't got a name," the boy shrugged, not too concerned.

"Haven't got a name," Skye corrected absently, stroking the X8R's hair as he curled up in her lap.

The boy's lit up when she spoke and he grinned impishly, "Sorry, ma'am."

Icarus' eyes brightened, "You could be called Daedalus."

"Dead who?" the tone of his voice let them know that 701 wasn't impressed and his little nose wrinkled as he sat by Skye.

"Daedalus, he was the partner of Icarus. His name means curiously wrought."

Flex laughed at Icarus' idea. "Curiously shaped, that suits you 701."

"No!" 701 folded his arms over his chest. "It's a nasty name."

"Well," Icarus bit her lip. "Icarus and Isacar are Greek names so you should have an old fashioned one too."

701 rolled his eyes, "Don' see why I haveta match."

Flex grimaced, "Who taught you to speak like that?"

"I had an assignment in a boy's dorm awhile back," 701 said absently. "They taught me. How about Speedy?"

Flex blinked at the change of topic again. "How about migraine?" he muttered and Skye's lip twitched before the shadow covered her face again and she pulled in her arms tight around the X8.

"What means fast in Greek?" she asked Icarus, the resident expert in names it seemed.

Icarus beamed at the acknowledgement and thought for a second. "Well, Zephyr means west wind."

701's face exploded in a smile, "I like that one."

"It's a mouthful," Icarus said doubtfully.

"So call me Zeph," he said decidedly and turned to Skye. "What do you think?"

"It's nice, Zeph," Skye reassured.

That seemed to decide it for the spiky haired boy and he beamed at her and snuggled closer.

Flex shook his head at the image of Skye with two young children who craved her attention. It was such a far cry from the Ice Queen image of a few days ago that he was still turned around.

"What 'bout you, Uh?" he frowned as he couldn't recall the designation of the willowy Chinese girl who didn't really say much at all. She had been the one that made the others grab guns before Manticore burnt down. She had seemed in charge and was ready to take command at any time and pulled the others into line. A real leader, possibly even squad commander.

"I see no point in this exercise," she confessed, a furrow in her brow and Flex grinned.

"It's called fitting in. Humans don't have numbers, they have names. If we wish to fit in we need them."

"What are yours?"

"Flex and Skye," he paused and added, "not Sir and Ma'am."

"I see," she frowned again.

Icarus piped up. "What about—"

"I can decide myself," she replied coolly cutting off Icarus, whose mouth slammed shut. Flex raised an eyebrow at her, it seemed she a way with people, that was scarily reminiscent of Drew and Anna mixed… now there was a scary thought.

"Given the parameters, I suppose Nyx would be appropriate."

"Nyx?"

"It means night in Greek and she was the daughter of Khaos and Erebos which means eternal or primeval darkness."

"Chaos?" Flex looked at her questioningly and Nyx stared back intently.

"How would you describe Manticore?"

"Good point."

Privately Flex thought that the girl had chosen a great name for herself. Born out of chaos and eternal night— that was Manticore indeed.

"So, Skye looks like we got ourselves Icarus, Isacar, Nyx and Zeph. What about the rug rat?" he gestured to the child that was asleep in her lap and Skye shrugged. "I'm useless at that, Max was much better. The only person I named was…"

Flex bit his lip as she shivered and pulled the boy impossibly closer.

She had named Steve. Her brother who was shot down in front of her and that had to hurt.

"Galen," she suddenly said. "If I remember rightly it means calm." She glanced down at the tousled head. "He seems calm to me."

And he calms you down, Flex added silently as she stroked the boy's hair again, his cherubic face lighting up at the touch, even asleep.

Flex dragged himself to his feet, "Well our little Greek family are gonna get hungry if we don't find food soon. So I'd suggest we get going already. If we hurry we can get to civilisation and get something to eat."

"Yay!" Zeph tumbled to his feet and shot off into the dark with Icarus chasing him.

"You okay to walk now, Isacar?"

The boy sighed. "I suppose so, Sir," Isacar put weight on his foot and walked slowly after his sister with Nyx shaking her head after them.

Flex edged over to Skye who had gotten to her feet with Galen still asleep in her arms.

"Need a hand, babe?"

Skye shook her head, her eyes averted, "We should catch up with them."

"Skye," Flex out a hand on her arm.

"Not now," she whispered. "Please Flex, I can't. I will, just… just not now."

He nodded, understanding. "I'm here."

"I'm grateful," her sparkling eyes met his and he dropped a kiss on her forehead.

"Let's catch up with our Greeks."

-----

Dek kicked open the door and walked into the dilapidated building shaking the raindrops from his messy hair.

"Hello, sweetheart, nice day?" Aiden drawled and Dek glared at him in annoyance.

"It's pissing it down out there,"

"In Seattle? Alert the press." Aiden said idly and turned back to his paper.

Dek shook his head letting the drops fly scattering icy rain all over Aiden and his paper.

"Hey!"

Dek smiled sweetly and pulled off his leather jacket, throwing it onto the old sofa.

They had found this place two days ago, when they had first arrived in Seattle, and it seemed to fit them both. It was out of the way, there was no rent to pay or police to bribe and it was close enough to the city centre that they could keep close to the hubbub of action and away from prying eyes. The fact that it was a run down shack with little or no redeeming charms was one that bypassed them; they were looking for convenience not comfort.

Dek spent most of his day trawling the city looking for anyone from Manticore while Aiden tried to put together some sort of systematic search pattern. The trouble with that was that they were so unused to their new territory that they weren't sure who was supposed to be there and who wasn't. It was hard going and with the rain, Aiden had opted to come home and look for information in newspapers instead. Gathering Intel, he called it.

Loafing, was what Dek called it.

"Anything?" he asked as he squeezed the excess water from his hair.

"Couple of banks got knocked over but I don't think it was our people. Couple of stray dogs got eaten, that probably _was_ our people," Aiden shrugged. "No leads on Drew yet, though."

Dek sagged.

Drew. It been a week since he had seen her and that was seven days too long in his opinion. They hadn't spent that much time apart since he could remember. Even when one of them went on assignment they always managed to get word to the other in one way or another. They had never gone a week without contact and it was killing him, especially since he didn't know whether or not she was alive.

No, she had to be. He wouldn't have it any other way. He couldn't survive if Drew was…

Dek took a steadying breath, "Its okay, we'll find her."

Aiden nodded, his eyes fixed on his friend. "We will."

He knew how important Drew was to his friend. Aiden had always prided himself on his ability to understand what was important; it was one of the traits that made him such a great aide, and he knew that Dek needed Drew. He needed her as his sounding post, his counsellor, his friend and love. Even when he didn't talk about her, preferring stoic silence that was expected of the 'bad boy' it was obvious that he was thinking about her and Aiden had awoken more than once to hear Drew's name on Dek's lips. It was romantically sentimental and he delighted in teasing Dek at every opportunity over it. but even he knew when tact was needed.

He smiled comfortingly at his friend and Dek nodded, a smirk crawling across his face.

"So darling, what's for dinner?"

----

"I'm starving!" Biggs complained.

"So?" Sunny pressed closer to him, trying to avoid the throngs of people as they traipsed down the sidewalk. "So am I, nothing we can do about it just yet."

She sidestepped to avoid an overweight couple with camcorders who were laughing uproariously about something.

"Damn," Biggs pulled her closer, trying to dispel the feeling of unease he had at walking around so freely. Getting lost in the crowds was Sunny's idea and he had come up with the place where there were the most people for them to hide amongst. It had been a few days trek to get here and now he wished he was anywhere else.

The trouble was that neither of them were used to crowds of this magnitude, nor the uncontrollability of said crowds. The way they mingled and bumped into each other, yelled loudly over the street and just generally milled around was disquieting to two soldiers who were used to routine, structure and order.

Las Vegas was a hubbub of activity and they felt as out of place as a mermaid in the Sahara.

The race out of Seattle had been a fast one as they both sought to escape both the threat of recapture and the memories of watching loved ones die.

Neither had mentioned Mets' name but he was never far from their thoughts and Biggs even wondered if he had subconsciously chosen Las Vegas as a tribute to the transgenic who adored gambling and had sacrificed himself for the woman that Biggs… loved? Well, he liked her a lot there was no doubting that, but he wasn't so focussed as to have put a name to the emotion that he felt as of yet. They hadn't stopped running long enough for him to have been able to sit down and think about it.

"This place is crazy," Sunny remarked dodging yet another overweight man in a too-tight t-shirt proclaiming he was a patron of 'Sam's Town'.

Biggs nodded and stared up at the bright neon signs and brash signage, even this early in the day broadcasting 'naked mud wrestling' and 'titillating bronco riding'. His lips twitched as he pointed them out to Sunny.

"Nothing like being subtle," he chuckled and she managed a wry grin before her eyes lit up at another sign.

"Ooh all you can eat buffet!" she bit her lip as she turned to him. "I'm _so _hungry, Biggs."

Her sweet smile and nervous glance made him smile wryly, "I doubt they'll let us in without paying."

Sunny wrung her hands and Biggs stared at her. Her long blonde hair was still baby-fine but needed a good washing, the same went with the clothes that she had pulled on after they heard the explosion back at Manticore. They hadn't had time to grab any extras and had just run. Both of their clothes were covered in soot and rips, they looked like homeless people—which they technically were—no one would give them the time of day here while they looked like this.

He reached up and rubbed away a smudge of soot from her chin and his brain ticked over.

"I'm starving, we're filthy and we need sleep," he said decidedly. "What we need is money. Fast."

"We've been saying that for days," Sunny pointed out.

Biggs nodded, "But now we aren't in the wilderness of nowhere. We are in the one place on this Manticore-forsaken earth that has people walking around with vast amounts of cash."

"Steal?" Sunny hissed. "Max'd go crazy!"

Max had always been a stickler for 'morals' that some lab-tech in Wyoming had drilled in to her. According to 'Bill', stealing was wrong—unless it was from bad guys. Murder was also apparently wrong, although even Max was confused at that one. Was what they did murder? Manticore and Renfro called it execution or disposal. Alec called it survival.

He was suddenly reminded that his best friend might not still be alive. He missed his two COs and the thought that they might be dead made Biggs's jaw tighten.

"They're not here, we don't even know if they made it," his harsh words made Sunny draw in a quick breath and her eyes shone with hurt. Biggs immediately felt sorry that he had been so hard and pulled her into a hug. "Besides Max wouldn't want us to starve. Even she broke the rules, right?"

Sunny nodded hesitantly, "Okay then."

Biggs smiled at her and scanned the crowd for a possible target. They needed someone who looked wealthy enough to be able to afford them and, preferably, someone who was arrogant enough to class as bad guy for Sunny's peace of mind.

Over on the other side of the road stalked a tall gangly man with tufts of ginger- brown hair. His eyes were quite large and he walked with a cocky air, only enhanced by his expensive black suit and the occasional flash of jewellery as he walked along; a gold ring, a thick necklace and one earring.

Biggs grinned and darted across the road, blurring so that he wasn't hit by the oncoming cars which swerved as they tried to control their cars whilst staring at the gaudy sights.

He straightened his hair and hurried forwards staring up in exaggerated awe at the jets of water that spurted ten feet into the air. He could see the cocky man in the reflections of the curved windows of the Casino and bit back a grin as he careened headfirst into the man.

Although Manticore had instilled a centre of balance that was pretty much perfect, Biggs pretended to stumble back and only just regained his feet as the man lay sprawled on the sidewalk.

"Oh God!" Biggs affected a Bostonian accent. "I am so sorry; I was watching the sights and didn't see you."

He held his hand out for the man who glared at him as he was hauled to his feet.

"Well watch where you are bloody well going in future!"

The man's heavily nasal accent was decidedly British and it raised the hackles on the back of Biggs' neck.

"Right," he grimaced. "Sorry."

The man brushed off his suit and stalked away mumbling something about damn rude Americans and Biggs rolled his eyes, waiting for Sunny to come across the road to him.

"He was an ass," he told her and she grinned brightly.

"An ass with money?"

Biggs pulled out the wallet that he had sneaked from the man's pocket as he 'accidentally' bumped into him.

The wallet was full and they both beamed at the prospect of having something to eat finally.

"Wow there has to be thousands of dollars in here!" Biggs whistled as he counted. "Maybe even more."

Sunny's eyes glinted, "Does that mean we could get a hotel room and clean up some?" her nose wrinkled, "Maybe get out of these clothes?"

"Hell, yeah!" Biggs enthused, linking his arm through hers. "Then an all you can eat Buffet, courtesy of—" he stared at the screen actors guild licence, "Mr. Richard Mayall."

"I don't care what his name is, as long as we can eat!"

Sunny pulled him over the road towards a casino and Biggs grinned at the girl whose priorities mimicked his own.

----

Her priorities were right, she maintained. This was the smart thing to do.

She tucked her hair behind her ears and took a deep breath, trying to steady herself as she smiled comfortingly at the man beside her who was every bit as apprehensive as she was— even though he hid it better.

"It'll be okay," he whispered and brought his fist up to knock at the door.

Three resounding thuds made her palms sweat as she tried to calm down.

This was vitally important, there was no way that they could allow this to be screwed up and it was all on her and her powers of coercion. Something that she had never thought about in the past. Her talents usually lay in clearing up afterwards, not making things happen.

She heard the telltale squeak of wheels and braced herself as the door swung open. She automatically looked down and plastered a smile on her face at the wide eyes that stared up at her.

"Sophie?"

Tara grimaced, "Actually it's Tara, Mr. Cale, and we need to talk."

Logan Cale wheeled back in his wheelchair to let her and her red-headed companion inside his penthouse apartment and the door slammed shut behind them.

----

The door slammed shut and Zan jumped to his feet. B.J. gave an apologetic wince.

"Sorry, man. I keep forgetting about the wind thing."

Zan nodded, "I never thought I'd miss Manticore, even for its Air conditioning."

B.J. put down his bags and tucked his hands into his pockets. "How is she?"

"I just managed to get her to sleep," Zan sighed, brushing a lock of blond hair out of his face.

B.J. stared at the lines of exhaustion on his friend's face. While it was true that X5s could go weeks without sleep, adding their recent trauma and subsequent flight from Manticore to a week's worth of exhausting trek through cities and their constant night duty, Zan was looking worse for wear.

"Did you manage to get any sleep?" B.J. asked hesitantly as he perched on the edge of the sofa.

"Some," Zan rubbed his neck and sighed again. "About an hour and then she woke up."

B.J. bit his lip, "I'll take watch tonight."

Zan smiled tiredly, "Thanks, man." he motioned to the bags. "What did you get?"

"Basic foodstuffs, I haggled at the market for some stuff, got decent prices on some vegetables and meats," B.J. shrugged, "Nothing fancy but food is food."

Zan nodded and reached for one of the bags, "I'm starving."

B.J. pulled the bag back with a touch of his old mischievousness, "Uh uh, I got us something better for lunch."

"What?"

B.J. pulled out a steaming white box, "Chinese food!"

Zan grinned, "You are my hero."

"It's your money," he stated and sat down to eat with Zan.

They had managed to escape the burning wreckage that was Manticore and head for the hills, hitching a ride on a passing fire truck. It had brought them out of Seattle and out west towards the sea. They'd fled as soon as the truck stopped and headed into the centre of a small town they had later discovered was called Lacey. They had walked around until Zan had come across a motel by a highway and he had surprised B.J. when he pulled out a thick wad of cash and handed it over to the clerk asking for a two bed roomed apartment.

He'd got it.

B.J. had asked him where he had gotten the money from and Zan just smirked, "Remember all those missions that they gave us a couple of hundred bucks from?" he'd said. "I saved it, in my boots. Just in case."

It seemed sweet justice to B.J. that the money Manticore had given them was the money they were using to hide from Manticore.

Besides they needed it.

"Any luck on the job front?" Zan asked as he twirled noodles around a chopstick.

B.J. shook his head, "No one is hiring, man. I trekked all over. I'll try again tomorrow if you can—"

A sudden keening cut him off and he dropped his container and raced into the adjoining room just seconds behind Zan who had the same response.

The closed curtains gave the room a dark melancholy air which was only exacerbated by the firmly shut windows despite the muggy heat. To B.J. it reminded him eerily of Psy-Ops, the one place in the world that he would rather die than visit again.

The figure of the bed let out a piercing cry startling B.J. out of his reverie.

Zan was kneeling on the bed and tugging at the figure, "C'mon, c'mon Em, wake up."

As a child Emma discovered that she had a certain ability to sense peoples feelings and emotions. In most cases this was an advantage as in the field she could almost predict with startling accuracy what motivation a certain target needed to be given. In her everyday life it meant that she got on well with everyone and could be counted on to get to the heart of what was bothering people. Unfortunately Manticore had no comprehension of the sheer instability of the 'gift' and its potency. Perfect for one-on-one work its usefulness spiralled out of control when she was in a crowd. She had worked at it with the aid of her family so that she could function day to day without sensing their emotions and feelings. But that was only when emotions were steady. The barrage of high emotions couldn't be kept out of her fragile psyche and the rush of feelings when the crowd of family was hurt, frustrated or anxious she likened to speeding through an asteroid belt without a spaceship. Exhilarating, intense and so very painful. And that was with soldiers who were taught to suppress their emotions. Out in the world those sensations were amplified a hundredfold by humans with no leash on their feelings, no reign on the constant ebb and flow of their own twisted consciousness and Emma was bombarded on all sides by the ups and downs of every human in the area. Their pain became hers, their hopes, their fears insinuated themselves in her head and it became too much for her to handle.

"Baby, c'mon, wake up," Zan pleaded. "Open those gorgeous eyes for me, huh?"

With a whimper, Emma's red rimmed eyes flickered open and her unfocussed pupils dilated. "Zan?" she croaked, her voice hoarse from the whimpering.

Zan gave a lopsided grin, "I'm here, Princess, it's me."

"Hurts," she sobbed as tears cascaded down her cheeks.

"I know, baby, I know," he soothed as he wrapped his arms around her and rocked. "I got ya, I'm here."

B.J. closed his eyes against the sight of one of his best friends reduced to this and he curled up on the bed behind Emma, stroking her back.

"I'm here too, Em, I'm not going anywhere."

Her tiny hand reached back to grasp his larger one and she squeezed conveying her thanks.

"Please," she whispered, not sure what she was begging for and not much caring. Emma could hear everything, the next door neighbour was worried if his wife was having an affair while his wife worried her husband would find out about her huge shopping bill. Their teenaged daughter feared her parents would find out about her tattoo and she was scared her boyfriend was going to dump her if she didn't sleep with him soon. Her brother was terrified about his grades and desperately unhappy with his upcoming chat with the principal.

The two men living in the apartment opposite were nervous about their upcoming business venture, wondering if it was foolhardy to invest their life savings into it. A girl sobbed in the stairway as her heart broke.

Down the hall a mother cried over her sick child and upstairs a baby screamed for its missing father. In the foyer a woman paced trying to tell her lover that she was pregnant and anxious that he would leave her. Down the street a homeless man relived his terror of the war and a twelve year old prostitute tried to block memories of her abuse.

From the trivial to the critical, the thoughts and fears swamped her head until she thought she'd go crazy. Then all of a sudden she felt gentle fingertips rubbing circles on her head and a warm baritone began to sing a low song.

"Emma appeared like an angel, Emma fell like rain into my lap, like a heart attack. Like the lightning from her name," Zan recalled Aiden singing the song back at Manticore and even though he couldn't remember the tune or the artist it seemed to soothe her then and it was doing the job now. He stroked her hair and crooned to her, as if he was singing a lullaby and humming the words he couldn't recall.

"I'm running dry of bad excuses. Don't wanna lie or seem intrusive.

But time hasn't told me anything, And neither has she."

He had no idea what the next lines were so he improvised, "A Manticorian in so much pain, trading hell for peace and security. We'll stay here and forever remain, with one big jerk and one called Zane."

B.J.'S lips twitched, "I thought it was Zan?"

Zan rolled his eyes, "Zan doesn't rhyme with remain. Besides Max's brothers were called Zack and Zane, which is what I was named after. It fits… slightly."

"It's working," B.J. noted as Emma's eyes drooped. "She can't keep this up though."

"I know," Zan sighed and lay her down, smoothing her ruffled hair with his fingers. "I'll have to go out soon and find some sort of medication that she can take."

"Neural inhibitors?" B.J. asked, medics never being his forte.

"Maybe anti-depressants or even anti-psychotics, until she learns to control it. I remember one of the emotive Trainers talking about how the senses shut down until the overload can be dealt with. What she needs is to close off her thoughts and then the innate barriers can build until the thoughts no longer bombard her like this."

"Lucky you read the course books," B.J. muttered. "I'd have no clue."

"Yeah," Zan smiled sadly. "Lucky." He raked a hand through his hair and B.J. once again noted how rough he looked.

"I'll stay with Em tonight, get some sleep."

They took turns in sleeping with her in case she awoke and needed them.

Zan smiled gratefully and lurched off the bed taking one last glance at the sleeping girl. He bent down and kissed her forehead, "Sweet dreams, Princess."

B.J. watched him shut the door after himself and he lay down next to Emma, cradling her in the crook of his arms as she slept.

"We'll find something, Em," he vowed. "I won't let you go crazy."

And he wouldn't. He may have lost Aiden, Mets, and Anna but he wasn't going to lose one of his oldest friends. He was going to help Emma to get better.

He pulled her closer in a fit of possessiveness and closed his eyes.

----

He opened his eyes, she was still there.

"Cody?"

Coco bit her lip. Of course Jason still knew her as Cody Mandora, the woman who had entered his life and left it scarcely a few weeks later. She wondered if she had played on his mind the way he had on hers.

Jason Ashton- Price had never been far from her thoughts these past few weeks and to see him in front of her was like a blow to the stomach. She had missed him so much.

His dark hair still flopped into the crystal glass blue eyes and his lean figure was still hidden by that checked shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

"Hey Jason," she said hesitantly.

Jason pushed his hands into the tight pockets of his jeans.

"Hey."

Coco hedged from one foot to the other, not sure what to say to him now that it came down to it. She had raced across the country to be with him and now that's he stood in his doorway she was at a loss.

What had she been thinking?

"Uh, s-sorry," she stammered. "I didn't… I wasn't… I'll go."

She turned berating herself as some kind of idiot. Before she could take two steps she heard him speak.

"Wait." She turned back to see him open the door to his apartment wider. "Come in."

----

"Thanks for inviting me in," Tara said as she sipped the water that Logan had given her to drink.

"Sure," Logan stared from her to the serious red-haired man sitting stoically by her side.

Logan Cale was a distinguished man in his late thirties with light brown hair which was in artful disarray and flopped affectedly into his dark blue eyes. His 'rough' look was added to by designer stubble and the thin grey glasses with matching grey sweater and black slacks. It seemed he had been trying to go for 'rich bad boy'… and missed. No one would ever have thought that this pretentious rich boy was the cyber –terrorist Eyes Only, the scourge of the underground.

It seemed ironic that this guy was on the police's most wanted list and yet probably ate luncheon with their chief.

"Want to tell me what's going on, Sophie?"

Tara sighed, "My name isn't Sophie Weston, Mr. Cale. It's Tara and I think the best way to say this is to just say it. I was sent to kill you."

"What?" the man's eyes went wide and his hands grasped hard to his wheels of the chair.

"Oh not now, back then," Tara smiled, trying to put him at his ease. "My employer wanted to find out who Eyes Only was and I was sent to do that."

If possible Logan's eyes grew wider and his hands clutched at the wheels of his chair until his knuckles showed white.

"Oh, I never told them it was you!" she hastened to add cursing herself for making more of a mess than before. "It wasn't… tactically smart at the time."

"Right," he nodded, scepticism showing on his face. Carrot rolled his eyes.

"Mr. Cale, Tara put herself in harm's way to protect your identity. Show some respect."

Logan stared at Carrot and then back at Tara, "Sorry So—Tara. Please continue, just who is it that you are working for?"

"No one now, but before. I believe you are familiar with Project Manticore?"

Losing all sense of dignity, Logan's jaw dropped and he scooted back, "You're X5s?"

Carrot grinned and put his arm around Tara, "Primed perfection."

He didn't like this man at all. Tara had told him that she was supposed to seduce him into revealing the identity of Eyes Only and, even though Max had saved her from that, Carrot still maintained the right to hate the man on basic principal.

Plus, he was a dweeb.

"Huh," Logan said as he was lost in thought, his mind racing with the implications of this.

Tara looked at Carrot, "Mr. Cale, we came to you because we require help. Manticore was destroyed. Our superiors tried to kill us; we have no idea as to why. All we know is that they set fire to the facility and left us to burn. Our family scattered and we have no idea how to get in touch with them."

Logan's face was suddenly closed as he regarded them. He was terrified behind that mask. He, along with several other escaped X5s had blown up the only home they had ever known without even a thought as to how they would escape. The '09ers had only thought about their missing sister, whose name he still didn't know, and they acted to break her out. Not the rest of these soldiers. The thought that the great Eyes Only, champion to the underdogs and discoverer of corruption had unwittingly brought about the deaths of hundreds of innocent children chilled his heart.

"Uh," he managed. "Uh… what do you want from me?"

Tara bit her lip, "Have you seen or heard from any of our kind, X5s? Especially designations 494, 452, 810, 555—"

Logan was shaking his head even before she had started the list. He knew some X5s but he had been warned that if anyone asked then he hadn't ever met them. As much as he liked Soph—Tara, he was far more scared of the tall dark psychotic transgenic- Ben.

"Sorry Tara, I haven't seen any. But," he paused, "it's logical that some might try to contact Eyes Only for much the same reason. I always keep my ear to the ground so I might be able to find something out for you."

Carrot smiled, "That's great. We'll be in contact."

Logan's mind worked fast, "Where are you staying?"

Tara looked down, "We don't have a place yet, we're sort of… drifting."

"Huh," Logan smirked. "My Uncle Jonas has this apartment block downtown where I could get you cheap rent. Do you have cash?"

"Haven't really had time to go job hunting," Carrot snapped. "You know, what with being on the run and all."

"I'm sure with my recommendation it would be easy to get Tara her job back."

Carrot gazed at the man in direct scrutiny. He didn't trust this guy as far as… as… Victor could throw him, his oh-so-decent offers had to have a catch.

"What do you want, Mr. Cale?"

"I need you to do a little leg work for me," he wheeled over to a cupboard and pulled out a sheaf of papers. "Joel Solinski. This guy's got a wife with three kids, an ex-wife with two kids, a mistress, and two girlfriends. The wives get houses, the mistress a condo, and everybody gets a car... all on a harbourmaster's salary."

"So?" Carrot's eyes narrowed. "The man is obviously looking the other way for smugglers."

Logan nodded, "He's made a fortune as an accessory to murder."

"Sounds like a great living," Carrot's cold humour knocked the smirk off Logan's face and he shivered as he remembered that these weren't just good-looking kids but serious trained killers. "I don't see why we have to get involved."

"You are involved. By being alive, you're involved."

Tara rolled her eyes at his sanctimonious preaching. "We've got our own problems, Mr. Cale."

Logan's temper flared, "Look... maybe we got screwed out of living in a time when we could hang out for the afternoon in a cafe someplace wearing $2,000 wristwatches, planning our next vacation, but the world got a whole lot meaner all of a sudden. It wasn't supposed to... but it did. So now it's back to the law of the jungle and there are predators and victims."

"You're talking to someone with more than a dash of predator in their DNA," Carrot paused. "Tell me, Mr. Cale, was it an Eyes Only assignment that got your ass in this chair?"

As Logan coloured Carrot laughed and leaned forward. "One thing we aren't is chumps. You want to tangle in human mess and get the rest of your ass shot off then be my guest. Me, I kind of like being able to walk. Me and mine don't need your trouble, we got plenty of our own."

Carrot stood up and held his hand out for Tara.

Logan frowned as they started towards the door. What was it with transgenics and their picking on the handicapped… sorry, differently able?

"On the other hand," he said firmly. "Eyes Only picked up a transmission a day ago about an impossible heist into an art museum, the guard on duty said the guy was like lightning and growled at him."

Tara and Carrot froze and Logan sneered. He'd got them.

"I could get the camera feed, see if he had any distinguishing marks, like a barcode."

_Hook, line and…_

Tara sagged and Carrot turned wearily to face Logan.

_Sinker.___

"Fine, what do you want me to do?"

----

Zack crouched on the roof, staring out at the city that was his temporary home for the next few days. Leaning on one leg with the other dangling in front of his bent knee, Zack played with the small object in his hand, letting the wind blow his blond hair any way it liked.

He stared down at the tiny golden metal object and rolled it between his fingers. He had no idea why he'd kept it, he should have thrown it away like the trash it was, but there was something about that which made him keep it.

He remembered digging it out of Syl, her hand grasping a pale Krit with all her might, the slight crack of Krit's fingers as they broke beneath her grip audible to everyone as they watched their sister in pain, the blood spilling down her shoulder.

Zack had been the one to pull it out, even though Krit was the Medical expert of the team. Krit had been too shaken by seeing Syl insensible with pain and his hands had shaken enough so that he was a detriment to her instead of a help and so the task of digging the bullet out of his baby sister had gone to Zack.

She had hissed and spat and cursed him seven ways from Sunday but he had done his job and she was getting on fine now and was almost ready to go back to her school, apologising to Zack and thanking him for being her hero.

But Zack had almost withdrawn totally and hadn't wanted to praise of any of his siblings. Why?

Because their praise and this little metal object reminded him of what he hadn't done. Of the fact that he had left Max alone in that hellhole for more than ten years and they had blown their one chance to get her out. Of the fact that he didn't know if she had made it out, if she was alive.

Of the fact that he had failed; failed them all.

Zack closed his eyes and tightened his fist around the bullet. Damn, but he wanted her back. Max had always been his baby; his little girl and in his own way he had loved her more than his own life.

He remembered when Jondy had told him that Max had gone through the ice and was dead. For the first time in his life, Zack had walked away back to his little hideaway and bawled like a baby. His sobs carrying him to sleep as he curled up on the dirty surface of his ramshackle hut. The loss of the one who he knew loved him like Maxie did was a blow that he had never totally recovered from. To hear from Ben that she was actually alive made him feel simultaneously better and worse. Better to know that she wasn't actually dead but worse to know that he had just assumed she was and abandoned her to her fate.

Now that he had missed getting her back, _again,_ he was feeling worse than ever. Empty and hurt and all he wanted to do was to curl up on the floor and bawl like he had that night so many years ago. But he wouldn't, he had to keep it together, he wasn't that little boy that had left his sister to die. This time he was the adult and he wasn't going to rest this time until he found out whether she was alive or dead. Until he saw the body, until he had kissed that silky soft hair and again and said goodbye—he wouldn't cry.

This time he wasn't going to lie down and take what they threw at him. Zack gripped the bullet tighter and stood, glaring at the darkness that dared to keep him from Max. He'd find her. Failure was not an option.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * *

Possibly should explain the title- An Englishman in New York is said to be an alien, a truly confused creature that stares wondrously at the sights whilst remaining sceptical at heart. Describes the transgenics situation quite admirably I feel. Plus it's a kick ass song by The Police.

Thanks to everyone that reviewed Moving Alongside- You all rock tremendously! I'm going away so no updates for about two weeks. Sorry, but if you want to swap places with me and go for walks up mountains with my "walk-a-holic" parents then feel free… to check yourself into an asylum.

BTW, pics of the Greeks can be found at my site and feel free to join the DA discussion group on yahoo.


	2. Having sustenance and covering

**A/N- I barely survived the walking holiday. It sucked and I have decided that it is my last 'family' holiday, it was nice to come back to some great reviews- thank you all.**

**You will notice that this story will tend to focus on those that didn't get a great deal of time in Moving Alongside. However- once again—of you ask nicely I'll add in who you want!

* * *

**

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**Recap-**

**In the explosion**

**Dek went with Aiden**

**Drew was injured and picked up by Ed**

**Skye and Flex retrieved Five children (Nyx, Icarus, Isacar, Zephyr and Galen) Steve was killed.**

**Emma, BJ and Zan are together**

**Sunny fled with Biggs after watching Mets die**

**Pix and Chance went off together**

**Coco**** ran off to find Jason**

**Feen, Techie and Anna ended up with each other.**

**And Carrot and Tara took Cece along to see Logan**

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* * *

CHAP 2** **Having sustenance and covering.**

Coco stared warily at the shell shocked man sitting in front of her. "Jason?" she hedged gently.

"So basically," he cleared his throat, "you're an escaped soldier from a secret government lab that specialises in manufacturing super humans with a mixture of animal DNA."

Coco winced, "Well, put like that it sounds dumb."

Jason laughed into his hand and nodded his eyebrows high in disbelief.

"Look, Jason, I'm not making this up," she vowed, her dark hair shaking as she moved closer to the baffled man. "If I was, I think I'd come up with something a little more believable that this."

"Yeah."

"I was sent to spy on your company and my mission was over which was why I was gone in such a hurry."

"Without a word," he said bitterly.

Coco glared, "They don't exactly have phones in hell."

Jason started, "What?"

"You think it was some sort of picnic, something that I couldn't wait to get back to?" Coco rolled up her shirt sleeve and showed him the scars on her upper arms. "I got that when I screwed up a mission a few years ago. We were sent into the jungle to retrieve some lost Marines and I wasn't watching where my C.O. pointed out a sniper track. I was hit with a poison dart by some imaginative natives and almost gave away our position." She rolled her eyes at the memory. "Flex tried to fix me up but I was too damn stubborn. But I got it when I got back for being careless. I was thrown into the brig and they didn't treat my arm until I got out three days later. It'd got infected and I had to have it gouged."

Coco shuddered as the feeling of scraping against bone rung through her. "Point is," she continued, "as soon as Manticore burned down I came to find you."

"Manticore?" Jason frowned. "So that Eyes guy was right?"

"Eyes?" Coco shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Eyes Only," Jason said excitedly. "He's a cyber-journalist, wanted by all the three-letter agencies; FBI, CIA, you name it. They say he's subversive with his cable hacks that usually expose corruption and wrongdoings. He brings a lot of injustices to light. Anyway he said that there was this secret government facility that was torturing children just south of Seattle."

Coco went cold. "When was this?"

"About two maybe three weeks ago."

"Can you remember precisely?"

Jason looked oddly at her. "I wasn't sure I believed him, the news crew said it was a VA hospital that burned down."

"When?" her voice was low and frantic and Jason got up off the sofa.

"Uh, I was recording a show for my niece when the cable hack hit, I have it here somewhere."

Coco clenched her fists tightly as Jason walked over to his video collection and rummaged around. If this Eyes Only man made some sort of hack exposing them, that could have been enough reason for the Director to torch the facility. It would answer one of her questions at least.

"Here," Jason pushed the cassette into his machine and waited. At first Coco was confused when huge fat men in Day-Glo suits walked on the screen squeaking at each other. Jason blushed.

"Yeah, sorry about that. She's a huge fan of…" he pressed fast-forward and quickly hit play.

Coco leaned forward as twin bands of red and blue swung across the screen and two eyes peered out at her.

_"Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a streaming freedom video bulletin. Your location has been revealed. Your secret is out. And now Manticore will be held accountable for its crimes. Manticore's facility is located an hour southwest of metropolitan __Seattle_

"What the hell did he think he was accomplishing?" she exploded, jumping to her feet. "Exposure could only lead to dissolution of the project. That's _us_!" she yelled at the screen. "We were in there, you son of a bitch! They tried to fry us!"

Jason stared wide-eyed at the girl whose cheeks were flushed with rage.

Coco held a hand over her stomach. "This isn't happening."

Jason bit his lip, "The news story comes on in a second shall I turn it off?"

Coco shook her head. "No, just leave it."

Jason stood by the TV watching the woman that he had come to care about gaze heartbroken at the screen. He really had cared about Cody Mandora and he was hurt when he called in to work one day and she had just gone. His boss, swathed in bandages, glared at him when he asked and mumbled something about reassignment and not to ask if he valued his job. Jason had hoped to hear from her and then, as the days turned into weeks and nothing he had grown angry and bitter; the thought that she had played him rife in his mind. He had thought hard about what he would do if she ever graced his doorstep again but admittedly this scenario had passed him by.

_"We interrupt this show with breaking news of a huge inferno over the mountains just southwest of __Seattle__. Sources indicate that an underground gas pipe exploded culminating in a-- Wait, Channel three has received word that this is in fact the tragic remains of an exclusive V.A hospital."_

Coco stared in disbelief as the charred ruins of Manticore filled the screen. The anchor-woman who narrated was in a helicopter hovering above the remains of Manticore showing images of the fire that raged.

_"The hospital was a refuge and home to scores of veterans that we owe our lives to in previous wars. This is truly a tragedy. As you can see bodies litter the grounds and local authorities are battling hard as the flames top the trees and are visible even from this distance."_

Coco covered her mouth as the camera showed a close-up of the grounds of Manticore. The training grounds where she had drilled with Flex and Max. The courtyard where she had sparred with Anna and Feen, and laughed at Pix. Her dorm was visible where she had awoken Cece up from her rampant snoring and had a pillow fight with Drew.

A window exploded as she was watching and fire blossomed out.

_"Can you say what caused the blaze, Louisa?"_

_"No, Carl, at this moment the local authorities aren't confirming what caused the blaze but they aren't ruling out any possibilities including arson."_

"Arson?" Coco gave a hollow chuckle, her eyes full with hot angry tears. "Plausible deniability. You expose them they deny everything."

_"Thank you Louisa and we'll bring you more updates as soon as we have them."_

Jason switched off the TV. "There have been broadcasts, the authorities are blaming it on some terrorist group called S1W."

"Who?"

"Militant, anti-authority group they took over a Vet clinic a few days ago. Are you okay?"

"No," she said truthfully. "Some of my friends died in that fire. The rest of my family scattered, I have no idea where they are or even how to start looking for them. I miss them."

Jason nodded, his hair flopping into his face as he looked her over.

She was a vision of cocoa-coloured skin and thick black hair, her oval face was perfect and her dark eyes glittered with pride. She was wearing dark trousers and a torn t-shirt, things that looked the worse for wear and he wondered idly where she got them from, after all they didn't wear that kind of thing in the military. With a start Jason realised that he believed her.

"Sorry Cody," he said and sat by her on the sofa brushing her hair over her shoulder in a comforting gesture. "I'm so sorry that you had to go through all that."

She swallowed, "My name is Coco. I don't have last name but my first is Coco, my friend named me."

Jason looked at her curiously and she smiled softly. "We weren't seen as humans by the superiors and we were given numbers— designations— instead of names. My designation was 624, and then a girl came from another facility and called me Coco—after her favourite drink I think."

She smiled at the memory.

"So Cody was your mission name?"

Coco nodded.

"Coco," Jason tried it and his face lit up in the little boy smile that she adored so much. "I like it."

"It's late," she said looking towards the window. "I guess I'd better go."

"Go where?" he said in askance and she shrugged, a smile on her face.

"I've been sleeping rough, but I guess it can't be too hard to find shelter."

Jason looked at her horrified, "You've been sleeping out there?"

Coco shrugged, "Standard mission parameters especially in the war zones. I didn't care though, I wanted to get here quickly to see you, I missed you," she ducked her head slightly. "I really like you, Jason and I guess I didn't mind it at all. I'd better go."

"Nuh uh," Jason said and walked off towards a cupboard, pulling out some blankets and cushions.

"There is no way that you are sleeping out there. You can have my bed and I'll take the couch."

Coco stared, "What?"

Jason inclined his head towards his room, "Go on now Cod—Coco, get some sleep. We can talk more tomorrow."

Coco stood up, still giving Jason an odd look.

"Scoot!" he laughed and she poked her tongue out at him before he closed the door behind her.

Coco couldn't believe it, she had just told him that she was a soldier and she'd travelled all this way to see him because she really liked him and he was sleeping on the couch?

He was mad, nuts, crazy.

"Sweet dreams!" he called and she grinned.

Completely crazy!

----

Sunny felt better after a steaming hot shower and, by the time Biggs was finished procuring them some clothes, she was almost feeling human again. Well, as human as she was originally, anyway.

Biggs had told the hotel manager that they had a bad flight and that the airline had lost all of their luggage as the excuse for their appearance. With a quick flash of the cash that they had… acquired from their target, they had been hastily shown to a large room and Biggs had been offered the use of the hotel facilities to buy clothes for his wife while she cleaned up.

Mr. and Mrs. Kline – a last name chosen from numerous advertisements that they had seen scattered around— were comfortably situated in one of the nicer suites in the Luxor Hotel with slanting walls and a great view of the mountains.

Sunny finished up in her shower and ordered room service, so glad that Biggs wouldn't mind her eating, she really was starving.

Just as she put the phone down the door opened and Biggs stepped into the lavish room.

"Hey, feel better?" he asked as he placed several bags with the hotel logo down on the table.

"Much," she sighed as she pushed her damp hair behind her ears. "You?"

"Grabbed a quick shower and then went to get some clothes," he flopped on the bed next to her and looked around the room with a whistle. "Damn, this is great!"

Sunny agreed as her gaze flitted around the room. Vegas was one place where it didn't seem to matter that the pulse had touched. With all of the back-up generators that they used, the pulse had barely made a dent in the gambling city. Of course the big league mobsters had moved in to 'help out' financially and the city still ran like clockwork. People came in, they lost money, they went home happy.

The rich décor of the room showed that, at least here, money and style mattered more than substance. The floaty gauze curtains flapped in the breeze and let the humid air circulate through the air conditioning. The room was decked out as in Egyptian times as was the theme for the hotel. The deep earthy browns covered the room in splendour as they matched the muted reds and dull oranges of the gold inlay on the furniture. The drapes were in the same floaty gauze as the curtains and touched the deep, plush carpet in beige and cream. The shimmering hieroglyphs were set into the wallpaper and the walls were covered with Egyptian images of animal-headed gods and dancing slaves. Even the furniture kept with the theme and the bed was encased in silk and curved like a Queen's resting place.

Opulent, luxurious and tasteful.

Sunny giggled, "I feel like I should be feeding you grapes."

Biggs nodded amusedly, "Yeah, scary, huh?"

She frowned, "Do we have enough money to pay for this?"

Biggs looked at her, "Sunny," he said archly, "We're in Vegas."

"Oh!" She blushed. "Right, so I guess we hit the tables then?"

"Tonight," Biggs agreed yawning. "I need some sleep."

Sunny spied the bags and her face broke into a smile of mischief, "What'd ya buy me?"

Biggs loved hearing that teasing edge in her voice. It was so different from the tired, sad tone that had been the norm these past few weeks since their escape and flight from Manticore. The death of Mets weighed heavily on both of their minds even though neither spoke of it. Like true blue soldiers, Biggs thought wryly, push it aside and aside and aside until it doesn't hurt as much and then pretend it never happened.

He waved his hands towards the bags and watched her scramble madly through his purchases like a child at Christmas.

As she pulled jeans and shirts and dresses and skirts he just watched her; her dancing eyes, her blonde hair drying into silken waves and bright, beaming smile. She was beautiful and smart and sensual and she was here with him.

"Uh Biggs?"

He glanced at her as she held up two scrap pieces of lace, her eyebrow raised.

Biggs shrugged sheepishly, "Hey, a guy can dream can't he?"

Sunny grinned and jumped onto the bed next to him, "I guess so."

He reached up and stroked her hair behind her ear. "What's say we get some sleep before we go earn our keep, huh?"

"Sounds like a plan." She yawned and stretched, her arms falling over his head and draping over his shoulders as she tickled his barcode.

"I said sleep!" he said archly and then his voice lowered. "But that can wait."

"Oh good!" she purred and leaned forward to nip his lips.

----

"Rise and shine!"

Skye's response was short and pithy and had the Xs giggling around her.

"Skye!" Flex admonished, "That's not the kind of language to use around the Greeks!"

Skye would have rolled her eyes at his name for the children but they remained closed as she protested getting up.

"Manticore is charred ruins therefore any excuse for getting up has to involve food," she muttered rebelliously and draped her hand over her face.

"Like this?"

Skye's nostrils detected the delicious scent of cooking bacon drifting under her nose and hot coffee not far behind.

Her eyes snapped open to see Flex wafting a streak of bacon on a metal fork towards her.

She sat up to see the Greeks sitting in a semi-circle around a small portable stove holding plastic plates filled with the bacon and some beans.

Galen got up and scampered closer to her burying himself in her lap and her arms instinctively drew him closer to her letting his soft scent fill her with comfort.

"I'm dreaming," she stated, her heart sinking.

"Not at all," Flex smirked. "While you were sleeping, Princess, me and Zeph scouted ahead and came across a big building with Wal-Mart on the front. We snuck in and…"

"Stole?" supplied a cheeky Zeph.

"Borrowed," Flex corrected, "we _borrowed_ the gas stove and some supplies."

"It was easy, security was a joke!" Zeph enthused. "We went in through the ceiling. The Guard was in his hut and asleep, he saw nothing and we picked up—"

"Guards?" Skye cut in, holding her boy tighter. "How many?"

"Just the one," Flex frowned at her tone.

"Was he armed?" She demanded, "Dammit, Flex, you should have told me where you were going."

"You needed sleep!" he argued not knowing why she was acting like this. It wasn't as if one guard posed a problem, for Manticore's sake. It was easy there was no danger of either of them getting hurt… Oh.

With a mental slap to the head Flex realised what was upsetting her and he edged closer.

"We checked out the Guard first, made sure that he was asleep and I was look out while Zeph got the stuff. Then we switched. I kept an eye on the man at all times and if he'd have woken we'd have hid until he went away. It was safe, Skye. I wouldn't let anything happen to me or the kid."

"Did we do wrong, ma'am?" Zeph asked his face troubled at the possibility of disappointing her.

Skye bit her lip as Galen tensed in her lap, not liking the tension in her arms. She knew that her response had been somewhat irrational but she couldn't help it.

The echo of the bullet that killed her beloved brother still haunted her, even after two weeks. She may be a soldier but Steve had been her family, the first one to completely love her for what she was and never want her to change. That had always been important to her and now more than ever she needed that sense of family.

She didn't want anything to happen to anyone that she cared about again. Not if she could help it.

"No Zeph," she smiled at the eager young boy touched at his willingness to please her. "I'm not mad. What did you get?"

Zeph beamed and sat back, his cocky air returned as he began to reel off a list to his avid listeners, "Sleeping bags, portable stove and gas cylinders, matches, bacon, beans, cheese, tents, water, biscuits, cookies…"

Skye's mind drifted as he continued the list and she stared at Flex, her mouth set in a small apologetic smile. Not too much though, she still had a persona to maintain after all. She pushed Galen away and gestured for him to eat with his chattering playmates. The silent boy nodded and sat by Icarus who was awake and listening intently to Zeph, her arms flailing in excitement as she gestured to Nyx and Isacar. Zeph filled his mouth with food and carried on his list regardless of Icarus' constant interruptions.

Flex pulled Skye under his arm listening to the bragging child. He lowered his mouth to her ear. "I also cleaned out a few of the cash registers; we can look for some place to stay that isn't in the open. It'll be safer once we have four walls around us."

Skye glanced up at him gratefully and snuggled under his strong arms glad that he was here.

----

There was quite a lot of room between the sofa and the wall, enough room for an angry transgenic to pace up and down and up and down wearing a hole in the plush cream carpet.

Her eyes followed him as he turned and walked back all the time his jaw flapping and making her wince.

Cece frowned at Carrot and rubbed her head, "Do you have to make so much damn noise?" she demanded finally. "My head feels like it's about to explode!"

"Transgenics don't get sick!" Carrot contested.

"Tell that to my brain!"

He poked his tongue out at her. "Besides I wasn't loud, I was just--"

"Complaining!" she stated irately. "I get that you don't want to work for Eyes Only, I get that you neither like nor trust the guy, I get that he manipulated you, I get that you hate having to live in this luxurious apartment that he provided, I get that you hate that Tara is working alongside him and I get that you miss our Unit, I do too. But please keep it down!"

Carrot sighed and sagged onto the sofa by her side.

"Sorry Cece," he said softly. "It just grates is all."

"I know," she sat back and laid her head on the back of the sofa and stared at the ceiling.

All three of them had moved to the apartment that Logan Cale had set up for them. It was nicely situated in the heart of the rich man's district and was high enough at 12 storeys to satisfy their feline need for heights. It was three bed-roomed with two bathrooms and kitchen, dining room and lounge.

Cece had been impressed with her new living quarters and was glad that Tara and Carrot as a mated couple hadn't just moved in themselves and left her on her own. She knew that they were decent guys and wouldn't do that but she just hoped that she wouldn't be a burden to them.

Tara had gone back to work at the newspaper with Logan and Carrot was Eyes Only's new partner in crime as he did all of the leg-work. The only reason that Cece wasn't pulled in to the arrangement was that Tara and Carrot refused to let her meet Logan.

"No way!" Carrot said when she had suggested it. "It's bad enough that we are in the middle of this mad man's machinations, the last thing we need is to give him three transgenics to play with."

Cece had reluctantly agreed and so she took care of the apartment while they were out, just generally cleaning and cooking and being… housewifely- she thought with a giggle.

"I mean," Carrot continued. "I get out of Manticore only to be given missions from a jumped up comp geek with bad hair and a save-the-world fetish."

Cece smiled at him and patted his leg, "He may be a loser but he is our best way at finding out what happened to our family."

"Maybe," Carrot rose up on his knees and started rubbing circles on Cece's head. She leaned into his touch and groaned as he released the knot in her temples. "But I get the idea that he is hiding something from us."

"Are you hiding something?"

They looked up to see Tara smirking at them from the door, a plastic bag in her hand.

"Hey sweetie," Carrot smiled in greeting and she gestured to him and Cece.

"Is there something I should know?"

"Yes," Carrot sighed. "I'm madly in love with Cece and we are deciding to run away together."

"Want lunch first?" Tara held up the plastic bag. "I brought home some Chinese food."

"Chinese?" Carrot looked at Cece. "Sorry darlin' you're dumped."

Cece scowled at him, "I'm in no mood to play. Go eat!"

Tara blinked in surprise, "Something wrong, Cece?"

"Yeah," Carrot said. "She's had a headache all day."

"I'm probably hungry," Cece said, the smells from the bag making her mouth water.

"Then by all means eat," Tara offered kissing Carrot as he made his way to her.

Cece grabbed the bag and took it into the kitchen to prepare dinner. "Sure, we could use some Tabasco sauce with it too, some of that stuff needs spicing up."

Tara and Carrot pulled apart with equal looks of disgust, "Tabasco? Ew!"

"What?" Cece popped her heads back into the room. "I like it!"

"Yes, well," Carrot grimaced. "No one ever said that you were the sanest of people."

Cece poked her tongue out at him and went back into the kitchen.

"Everything all right?" Tara asked him carefully.

"Yeah," Carrot sighed. "I'm just fed up of doing Eyes Only's leg work."

Tara bit back a grin, "Well its not like he could do it himself."

Carrot smirked, "True, but I know that he is hiding something from us, something important."

"You think maybe he is in contact with some of the other Xs?"

Carrot shrugged, "Maybe, all I know I that I don't trust the guy. He makes my skin crawl. And I'd be much happier of you weren't in such close quarters with him every day."

Tara giggled, "Like I'd even touch him!"

Carrot pouted as he brushed her hair behind her ears, "I don't like the way that he looks at you."

Tara didn't know what to say to that. She knew that Carrot was a jealous man and mostly it didn't bother her, it was unusual to have someone who wanted her that much that they were prepared to be jealous. She had always been used to being 'the medic', the nameless, sexless doctor that cleared up after the battles and stitched you back together again. Either people feared her, because seeing her meant that you were injured, or they tried to avoid her. To have someone that cared about her and genuinely wanted to be around her like Carrot does, it was intoxicating and filled her with warmth.

"I don't see it," she said softly. "All I think about is you."

They shared a kiss unable to say all of the things that they wanted to say to each other. Manticore had never taught them how to deal with these sorts of emotions and voicing how much they meant to each other was as foreign as sand to an Eskimo.

"Ugh, get a room," Cece rolled her eyes as she came back in and sat on the sofa.

Tara glared at her, "Ugh, get a boyfriend."

"Ladies!" Carrot gently chided. "Tara, Cece hasn't been feeling well."

"Transgenics don't get sick," was the automatic response and she blinked. "Sorry."

"That's okay," Cece shrugged. "That's what Carrot said. Good old Manticore brain-washing at its finest."

"I can check you over if you like?" Tara offered and Cece grinned.

"That'd be great, thanks."

Carrot smiled at the two of them trying to get along. Tara may be sweet and easy-going but Cece was enough to try anyone's patience.

He was just lucky that they didn't get stuck with Anna.

----

The bell above the door rang loudly signalling to anyone within earshot that there was someone entering the rather formidable looking room.

B.J. grimaced as the door slammed behind him, shielding them from the sounds of traffic outside.

He had been walking down the street, looking for a job when he had seen this place with an advert in the window and whether it was mischief or masochism he wasn't sure, but he felt impelled to enter.

He smirked lightly as he mentally berated himself for coming here. It wasn't exactly a particularly clever place for an escaped transgenic to be.

He glanced at all of the posters on the walls proclaiming that the country needed them and that Uncle Sam was watching.

The décor in ocean grey and green wasn't inviting and the few plants scattered around did nothing to dispel the severity of the place.

No, an army recruitment office possibly wasn't the smartest place to be when half of the military world would be out to kill you for existing.

"Can I help you?"

B.J. turned to see a tall dark-skinned woman standing in the doorway.

Her back was ramrod straight and her feet turned out just so to indicate a military background. Her dark eyes were seriously intent on him and her long black hair was slicked away from an oval face carefully helpful in expression.

He grinned a boyish grin and scratched his head, "Uh hi, I was wondering if you had any vacancies here."

The woman raised a manicured eyebrow and fixed him with a glare. "There is a sign in the window, is there not?"

Her acerbic tone raised his hackles in a way he hadn't felt in a few weeks and he dropped the act his back straightening as if she were Trainer Banns. "Yes, ma'am, but I wasn't sure if the position had been filled."

The brow seemed to settle itself at that sign of discipline and she almost smiled.

"It's a part time position which you would take over from myself several times a week as well as the two of us working alongside each other. It's a good wage but I expect a good day's work for it. It entails answering phones, typing memos and handling recruitment. Do you have experience?"

B.J. wanted to grin at that but kept his face carefully blank, "Yes, Ma'am. I have military experience."

"You?" her eyes raked over him and B.J. knew what she saw; a slim pretty guy with a chiselled jaw, almond eyes and an unruly mop of light brown hair. His casual demeanour seemed to state that he was undisciplined and not at all what you'd expect from a soldier.

Appearances were deceiving.

"I was an army brat with my father being posted mainly in Europe," he lied smoothly. "I was conscripted in Germany when we lived there and graduated top of my Unit two years ago, having skipped a year and a half. I am up to date on recent arms and munitions and was considered an expert in detonations and technology."

The woman raised that damn eyebrow again, obviously impressed despite herself. "That's all very well, but can you do secretarial work too?"

B.J. allowed himself a grin, "Yes Ma'am, I did my share of grunt work."

At that she did smile and walked sedately over to her desk and pulled a file from her desk. "In that case, perhaps you could answer questions from this application form so we have your details on file and I can show you around."

She gestured to the seat in front of the desk and B.J. sat.

"Name?"

"B.J."

She rolled her eyes, "Real and last name?"

Shit, he didn't have a last name, and he didn't think that what his initials really stood for were going to help this time. His eyes searched for inspiration and he found it above her head. Uncle Sam wants you!

"Sam…son. Billy James Samson."

"Billy, is that short for William?"

"Yes Ma'am. William James Samson." Well it was better that 'Hi my name is Big Jerk Manticore.'

"Social security number?"

B.J. made something up from one of his previous missions; it wouldn't be too hard to forge that once he got hold of a computer.

"Place of residence?"

"No fixed address at this time," B.J. said and she looked up curiously.

"I just got into town, like, three days ago and am living in a hotel until I can find suitable accommodation."

"I see," the woman made a note of that. "Well, William, like I said the salary is pretty good and the hours are set." She handed him a piece of paper with the times he was expected to work. "I like things to be neat, tidy and efficient. You show up, you do the work and if I'm happy you go home happy, understood?"

"Yes Ma'am," B.J smirked. "And the name is B.J. What do I call you?"

"My name is Jacenette Knightsbridge," she said archly. "You can call me Jace."

----

The rope uncurled and fell from the skylight dropping several feet to hang a few metres above floor level.

A figure dressed in black started down the rope, the figure's hands slipping expertly down the cords to bring them into the empty room.

It didn't look like a particularly valuable room, all that was in there were a few scattered exhibits locked behind glass cases, tattered exhibits that looked more protected that appeared needful.

The artefact in the centre of the room was elevated off the floor by a pillar and was covered in a cylindrical glass case. The flashlight held by the figure on black shone on the plaque that read;

**Sammy Sosa-**

**September 17th, 2009****  
Home Run No. 756 **

From a belt as black as the outfit, the figure produced a screwdriver and hung back as they looked for the screws that affixed the glass case to the stand.

"Uh, I think they're under the other side!"

Dek rolled his eyes, "I knew that, I was making sure that there weren't any leads to an internal security device."

"I read the schematics," Aiden said as he dropped down a second rope to land besides Dek halfway in the air. "There was no other security than the floor sensors."

"And grid gates and guards which are due back in four point two minutes, so if you don't mind!" Dek growled as he started to unscrew the glass.

"You know you really need to unleash some of this hostility," Aiden remarked dryly as he watched Dek struggle with the encasing.

"What hostility?"

Aiden bit back a grin, "The same hostility that has you growling like a mama bear every time you talk to me."

"I don't growl," Dek protested glancing over his shoulder at Aiden.

"Do too," Aiden shrugged as he grabbed the baseball and watched Dek slide the glass back in place— _that_ would puzzle the guards.

"I do?" Dek frowned and swung around to Aiden.

"Uh huh, it's like living with Anna sometimes."

Dek winced, "I didn't realise that I was that bad."

"I understand that you miss all of our guys and Drew- of course. I do too."

"It's more than that," Dek shook his head and wrapped his arms around his rope, sitting in mid-air. "It's something inside, like, cloying. I feel like without my Unit I can't breathe. Without Drew is bad enough, I want to fall to pieces. But without the rest of them…" He shook his head again unable to put it into words.

"You know, unlike you illiterate bums, I actually read that report Tara made to Renfro."

"The animal one?"

"Yeah, well, we have so much damn mix in our cocktail but one of the main similarities is they used animals with Social clans or packs."

Dek shrugged, "So?"

Aiden rolled his eyes, "Feline, canine, equine-- those characteristics that make up who we are all come from Social Animals and so we have that need to be near the rest of our pack."

Dek shook his head, "It's more than that."

Aiden swung his legs around to sit in mid-air like Dek, "The most interesting thing was that in those of you who have Shark DNA- that'd be you, Max, Chance, B.J. and Emma have a whole new level of social behaviour."

"Wait," Dek shook his head. "I thought sharks were pretty much loners."

Aiden shook his head and a grin appeared on his face, "Tara's paper—which you'd know if you bothered to read it—mentioned shark behaviour."

"Yeah, you know I was too busy having a life," Dek teased and Aiden glared.

"Fine, I won't tell you then." Aiden started to climb back up to the Skylight.

Dek grabbed him before he could make it up the rope, "C'mon man, tell me."

Aiden folded his arms, "Not until you apologise."

Dek pouted, "Sorry."

Aiden smirked in triumph, "Okay then, wuss," Dek glared at the insult but allowed a grinning Aiden to continue. "Sharks, especially the Great White and Grey Reef variety have complex social behavioural patterns, including multifaceted relationships with others and communication of body language and body patterns rather than sounds. Remember how you calmed down when around Max? You were never really a tactile person, even with Drew until Max arrived."

"Except with Chance," Dek remembered several times taking it in turns with Alec and Biggs in calming down the girl after her nightmares. He had always felt better after hugging her or even touching her hand.

"Who also has shark DNA," Aiden reminded him. "My guess is that although you can use sounds to communicate with me and others as befits most of the animalistic behaviours; what you're missing is those others of shark disposition to communicate with through body language and those other social cues."

"Huh," Dek thought about that. It made sense in a strange way. He'd always been known as the bad boy of Manticore and had done the whole James Dean, sullen teen, routine even though he'd been open with Drew. But it wasn't until Max arrived that he truly started to feel like one of the gang rather than a loner. He remembered all of the times he touched Max, to get her attention or to make her feel better or even to annoy Alec, whatever it was he had felt better whenever she was around.

"So the others with shark DNA are feeling this too, huh?"

Aiden nodded, "If they are without each other then yeah, but if say Emma is with Chance then they'll be okay."

"But Max seemed fine when she first arrived at Seattle, so what was that?"

Aiden sighed, "I'm no Zoologist but best guess is that Max created some sort of defence to it when she was in Wyoming, you know how her unit treated her there."

Dek growled. That he did; that Bulli guy had it coming on so many damn levels that he couldn't even begin to explain.

"So I understand that I am not good enough for you," Aiden said in mock sadness. "And why I must put up with you being so damn grouchy with me. At least until we can get B.J. back to feel you up."

Dek yelped and smacked Aiden's head, "Ew! Thanks for that image!"

Aiden frowned as he heard footsteps, "Uh Dek?"

Dek grimaced, great conversation to have whilst attempting to rob the place! "Up now!"

They scampered up the rope towards the open skylight and managed to get to the roof just as the guard walked by the room where the now empty glass case lay innocently in the gloom.

----

Drew painstakingly made her way into the brightly lit kitchen salivating at the delicious smells that emanated from there. She favoured her left leg as she edged into the room and dragged herself into the nearest chair; the small journey taking more out of her than she hoped or was comfortable with.

She leaned back against the wooden chair and tried to push it closer to the table. Her ribs protested and she groaned inwardly.

"All okay sweethear'?"

Drew smiled up at Ed as he placed a plate in front of her. "I just ache is all."

She tucked her hair behind her head and tried not to wince at the bright light, since that night at Manticore her eyes had been extra sensitive. She blamed it on the explosion that happened in front of her… or perhaps it was the bang to the head, being flung halfway across the stairway or having most of the upper floor collapse on top of her, you could take your pick really.

It had been one hell of a day.

"Ed?"

The brawny man looked up at her, his thick white eyebrows drawn up in questioning. He had been so kind to her, taking her out of the woods where she had been slowly bleeding to death and he had used his limited medical knowledge to fix her up as best he could. Then he had taken the care to hide her from the soldiers and guards that checked out his, and indeed all of the houses in the district, for any escapees seeking refuge.

He had taken care of her while she was unconscious and he was nursing her gently back to health. And she didn't even know why. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know. What was that human phrase about not looking a Gift Horse in the mouth?

"Um, do you know whether any of the others made it?"

Ed bit his lip as he gazed at the pale woman sitting carefully in the chair in front of him. She was a fighter, that was for sure, she had survived what most humans would have died from—but of course she wasn't exactly human.

"Sorry sweethear', they ran too fast fur me ta see. I know lots made it out, but didn' see no faces."

Drew swallowed and nodded slowly. "I have to find them."

Ed's face registered his surprise, "But missy, you ain't in no condition ta be wandering, 'specially not with them guards after ya."

"They're family," she said quietly, no trace of her previous tough chick persona.

"I understand but wait until you can walk at least far enough ta not be caught okay?"

As a soldier Drew recognised the importance of her regaining her strength before making her way out into the world to find her family in general and Dek and Max in particular. But her heart was so desperately yearning for any one of her friends to come and be with her. Damn, at this point even Anna would be more welcome than not.

With that thought Drew shook herself— she wasn't quite that bad yet—and smiled up at Ed.

"I'm kinda hungry now."

Ed patted her hand affectionately, "I got just the thing."

----

His feet crept silently along the ground, managing not to crunch the gravel under his toes and give away his position. It wasn't that he wanted to be sneaky… well, actually he did, he knew that they wouldn't trust him if he didn't at least attempt to be stealthy. He was a transgenic after all.

But he didn't want them to think that his motives were underhand, he had to try to make his way in their—

"Halt!"

He froze, his hands automatically held out to the side to let them know that he was unarmed. He could feel at least four people surrounding him, two above his head and two at ground level, he could hear the light cocking of at least one gun and could smell two more.

They were serious.

"State your designation."

"No more designations," Techie growled, "I _was_ X5-886. I'm Techie."

"Techie, huh?" There was a sudden blast of light as if a floodlight had been switched on and the whole of the surrounding area was illuminated.

Techie winced, his feline sight overwhelmed as the lights flooded his pupils.

A coarse laugh wasn't the only reaction to his discomfort as the barrels of the guns lowered.

Techie straightened and gestured behind him, where two figures edged into the clearing to stand beside him.

"Problem?" Feen said, putting her hands on her hips in a telltale gesture of defiance.

Techie bit back a grin at the imperial tone in her voice, "Nah, just saying hi to these fine transgenics."

"Hi, now scat over to Oak Street, that's where your kind is congregating."

"You are our kind," Feen said archly.

"Yeah?" the voice stepped into the light, his scales glistening in the spot light. He was about 6 foot tall with large ridges adorning his forehead and down the crest of his nose. His eyes were round and hooded and a cigar lay smoking between his lips.

"There's a world of difference between you and me, sweetheart."

To her credit Feen didn't flick an eyelid, "Got a barcode, don'tcha?"

He didn't blink but Feen had the impression that she had impressed him slightly.

Anna nudged her with her elbow, "Can we go?"

"I'm Feen," she ignored the Chinese girl behind her and stepped towards the great lizard man.

"Mole," he said around the cigar and hefted his rifle. "This is Sally."

"Anna," Feen gestured to the girl beside her. "You met Techie."

"Yeah, we each stay with our kind, X with X, freak with freak," another transgenic offered stepping into the light to show his pink domed head and wide eyes. "I'm Luke."

"Hey, ain't she one of them Special Ops?" another voice spoke up.

Anna nodded, "X5- 291, specialised in schematics and ordinance."

"Damn lawyers," Mole muttered and Anna glared.

"I don't know Mole, we could do with someone who reads schematics, they could tell us where the power lines and water pipes run," hedged Luke.

Mole just shrugged. "Welcome to Terminal City," he said gruffly and gestured for someone to open the large gates.

Techie tucked his arm into Feen's as they walked into the city and the gates slammed shut behind them.

----

Chance tucked one elusive strand of hair behind her ear and looked down at the milkshake that she was sharing with Pix. They had bought it with the last of the money that he had managed to sequester away at Manticore. She had been so hungry but there was nothing on the menu that they could afford and so had settled for the sweet strawberry concoction. The trouble was that they couldn't find anyone who looked wealthy enough to steal off, and the two of them had enough issues about theft anyway without adding to it. But neither could they find a job, it seemed that occupations in pre-pulse Seattle were as hard to come by as Renfro's heart.

Pix was worried more than he dared to say about it. Chance had been acting oddly since they had escaped the burning wreckage that was Manticore. At first he had assumed that she simply missed her family, much in the way that he did. But then the snappy remarks and erratic behaviour just wasn't Chance at all. She didn't snipe at him and she didn't stand in the middle of the room and sniff dodging her head from one side to another as if listening intently for something.

She made him concerned and he was going out of his way to try to pacify her, even if neither of them knew what it was exactly that she needed pacifying from.

"Chance?" he pushed the milkshake towards her letting her finish it off. She smiled sweetly at him and opened her mouth to say something.

"Mar-IE!"

The scream of the head cook made Chance's mouth close with a snap. The man had been yelling at that poor girl for hours. Every time something pinged or sizzled they'd hear the raucous yell of "Mar-IE!" and the harried waitress would roll her eyes and head out back.

Pix's eyes narrowed, "Mar-ie the toast is burning, Mar-ie the kitchen is on fire, Mar-ie my ass is too big," he mocked. "Why doesn't the guy just get a dog?"

"In his defence the girl is slow," Chance said impishly. "She isn't exactly prime waitress material."

They both looked over at the head cook, Fabio. He was about as round as he was tall, with black hair curling around a balding crown. He was beefy in his white clothes smattered in grease and cooking fat and his red face was getting redder at the incompetent waitress, Marie— a multi-studded teen with greasy blonde hair and an attitude problem a mile wide.

Pix smiled at Chance glad that she was feeling relaxed enough to laugh and joke with him again, she had had another temper fit this morning and had crouched on the floor of their little abandoned shack in tears, unable or unwilling to tell him what was wrong. He had been scared to death.

"Marie, table five's order is done!"

Pix reached over to tuck that errant strand back from her face and considered telling her that he was worried for her. Before he could however;

"Marie!!"

"Screw you, Fabio!" the girl had obviously had enough and threw her white apron off. "I don't need this crappy job, I'm off."

"But these orders!" the man gaped as she gave him the finger and walked out, the door slamming shut behind her.

The whole place, consisting of seven diners and the two transgenics went silent as they wondered what was coming next.

Chance quietly slipped out of her chair and picked up the white apron, turning to Fabio.

"What's the pay?"

He looked her up and down and then over at the plates on the counter. "Eight dollars per hour, plus tips."

Chance wrapped the apron around her waist and picked up the plates, "Table five, right?"

"Right."

Chance walked over to table five and placed the plates down in front of the wide-eyed men. She smiled shyly.

"Will there be anything else?"

Fabio went back to tossing burgers and Pix got up, walking over to the obese man.

"Any other openings?" he asked quietly not liking the way that the men looked at Chance.

"Need a pot-wash, he quit on me yesterday," Fabio answered after looking over Pix. "Want to keep an eye on your girl?"

"Something like that," Pix agreed and Fabio nodded strands of thick greasy hair falling over his fringe.

"Seven twenty an hour," he gestured to the back. "Sink's full."

Pix grinned and rolled up his sleeves. Well it wasn't perfect but it beat starving.

----

"Jon! Hey JON!"

The sassy redhead turned to see what her boss was screaming at her for. It was Saturday night at the hottest club in San Francisco, the drink was flowing and so were the drunks. She had to break more than one finger tonight that strayed too far south of the border and the last thing she wanted was to deal with her overly friendly boss. It was sweet in most cases that the huge guy was so sensitive and protective of her, but on nights like this when all she wanted was to lash out, it was damn annoying.

"What?" she snapped as she weaved her way through the sea of drunk, smelly bodies who laughed way too hard for her sensitive hearing tonight.

"Phone!" her boss, Kev, waved the phone at her and she nodded, tucking her towel into her pocket and handing him her tray. "Thanks, cut table six off, that guy is way too grabby and his boyfriend isn't much better."

"Sure thing, hon."

"Yo, this is Jon."

She heard a small chuckle and a smile curved her cherry red lips.

"Zack?"

"Hey, Jondy."

"Hey, big brother, how're you?"

There was a brief silence and then an overly jovial, "Fine."

"Liar." Jondy believed in calling a spade and spade and there was no way that her brother was anything as mundane as fine. "Spill."

"I'm fine." There was no negotiation in that tone and Jondy was reminded of hours of drills in the dark trusting in that imposing voice to keep her sane and alive. She trusted that voice, believed in that voice and loved it unconditionally.

"Okay," she said doubtfully. "What's up?"

"Just calling to check, make sure that you made it home safe, baby sister."

Jondy grinned, "Oh you know me. I'm cool. Hanging with the freaks and geeks, dealing in drinks and winks for the crowds on a Saturday night."

"Good," Zack said, his voice distracted. "I'm checking around."

"Syl get home okay?"

"She's due back tomorrow, I'll call then."

There was something in his voice that Jondy picked up on, "Zack, you do know that it wasn't your fault. None of us could have known about the failsafe. None of us could have any idea that they'd torch the place and no one had a clue that Syl'd get shot. This is not your fault."

"Sure."

His tone of voice meant that she had hit at least part of it on the head.

"No, not sure, Zack. It wasn't your fault," she went quiet. "Do you blame me for running and not waiting to see if Max made it outta the ice?"

"No, of course not." Zack said adamantly. "It wasn't your fault."

"But if I had, then maybe—"

"All the maybes in the world won't help right now, we deal in fact not wishes."

Jondy nodded, twirling the telephone cord around her hand, "Tell that to yourself too, honey. Fact is none of us were as prepared as we wanted to be. Fact is we were lucky and we still managed part of our mission. That's a fact. Maybe she made it out, maybe she didn't. But that's neither here nor there. Fact is you are still the best, Zack. I'd follow you anywhere."

She heard a sigh from the end of the line and she smiled knowing that that had been what he needed to hear.

"Thanks, Jondy." A pause. "Glad you're safe home."

That was his way of saying that he cared and was the closest that he would ever get to saying that he loved them and so, in true Jondy style, she blew a kiss down the line. "Love you too."

She hung up on the sound of Zack laughing and it made her own lips curve despite her worry.

Zack was their leader, their CO, and he was wallowing in what-ifs, it didn't bode well for the rest of them and for the first time Jondy wondered if they had done the right thing in splitting up. What she wouldn't give for one of Krit's wisecracks or Ash's idiosyncrasies or even Ben's stories. But what they really, really needed right now, was one of Zack's hugs.

Somehow she didn't think that would be forthcoming in the near future.

--------**REVIEW ME AND YOU GET PUT IN THIS NICE LITTLE BOX HERE!----**

* * *

messymissy- Thank you sweets, I have already started to adore the Greeks, they are such fun to write. Glad that you liked the Zack part. As for the rest- watch and see. 

Angel Of Darkness- Wow all in one sitting? Kudos babe, well done you. As good as Zacbele? Okay now I'm blushing!

Sigma1- hey you, glad to be back, glad you enjoyed that.

Melinda- Oh yeah, I'm going crazy with this one! Trying to keep to a timeline and all- eesh!

Lozz422- Who do you suggest for our Zack?

Poo- Ain't it just? Pix and Chance in this chapter for you!

Fangedangel- Some are adjusting better than others as we shall see soon.

Natasgi- Like I said- any time you want to do that timeline feel free!

Lynsi- Logan is more Season 1 here and he does have the whole bad guy vibe doesn't he?

Ellenemi- Carrot really comes out of his shell here.

Geminangel- Hope it wasn't too much information. I'll put a reminder at the start of each chapter for ya.

Egyptian-Godess- Thank you pet, nice to hear from you.

GivenAlias- LOL, nice skipping. Max and Alec are totally in the other one, I have way way way too many characters to have them all here or chapters would be 50 pages each.

Stormvind- Really? LOL, well the little guy isn't crazy- just quiet. Hope you continue to enjoy it.

Natacup82- Hope work wasn't too distracting for you J

Lotamoxie- Will do sweets, enjoy!

Feenian- Don't cry. I did say that this would be updated less frequently than the past I have lots to do, plus work is increasing due to Xmas.

Kim- M/A devoted in the other story as you will see. I'm not a huge Logan fan so we see lots of his failings.

Ganko- Big grin at that. Seriously wowed? Cool. Drew and Dek will see each other again- just not for a while.

Ronda TIW- Aha, yes Pix and Chance were here very shortly but M/A are solely in the other story. I will do that update thing for you.

Navanroy- hey welcome. Thank you very much. Glad that you love them as much as I do. aren't they sweet.

Raven- hope it wont jump too much, but remains readable. Let me know if it gets too hard.

Moonlite star- The Greeks are vast fun to write about, I love the little guys already!

Black Rose9- will do.

Mrs Ackles- hey again, cheers pet.

Kat461- thank you!

Lyndsay- it'll be a while but look for it!

Snortablesniffy- yes they will… eventually.

SenoritaDHL- Aw bless ya, or is that just because Max and Alec weren't in it?

SGOU- LOL, love ya too, pet. Drew and Dek's relationship is one that I would love, they are great together and their first thought was each other- adorable huh? Oh yeah Flex and Skye's roles are totally changed hehehe so much fun to be had there. Aiden and Dek are great as well, they play off each other wonderfully. Yes Biggs stole from one of my least favourite "stars". Guess who? More Mets saluting will come. Ooh someone has a crystal ball! Yes Emma had a few problems which we will find out about in later chapters.

Elfie- yeah, it's a shocker! No Drew wouldn't actually kill Ed for a shower… possibly. Nyx as Brin- I see the similarities but no. LOL, Dek and Aiden as a gay couple? Ooh so so perfect description! I've watched a few Charmed episodes but I might have missed that one. LOL, oh like I could get enough angst!

Crazy- VampireSlayer- thank you, they are so real to me too, its like a whole new family! Pix is always adorable isn't he? Ah my sweet little boy all grown up. No I will not kill off Biggs. I hated what Cameron did there too, he was such an interesting character as well.

Choasti- hey chick, see I remember that you emailed me too!


	3. Standing at the bottom looking up

**A/N- feedback would be great, is this style of swapping too confusing?Is everyone up to speed, do I need recaps at the start of each chapter. anyone you want to see more of? Come on talk to me here!**

**AN2- Yes Jace (BJ's boss) is _the_ Jace. The thing about the Sharks is real.**

**AN3- Please check out the broken worlds awards to support DA and also the dadiscussion board on yahoo groups to talk DA (you also get sneak previews of this story!)**

**AN4- Why are you still reading these... on with the story!**

* * *

**CHAP 3. Standing at the bottom, looking up.**

The presence of someone else in the room was what awakened Coco from her sleep and her whole body tensed as she considered the position of her enemy and how mobile she was. Her hand slipped under her pillow and she grabbed the gun she had stashed there the night before, slowly drawing it out to aim at the intruder. The clink of glass was-- Wait, glass?

Coco opened an eye to see a tousled dark blond head closing the door and edging in. she pulled the gun out and pointed.

He froze as she fixed him with one eye.

"It's dangerous to creep up on an armed transgenic—"

"I made breakfast."

"Unless you come bearing food," she finished smoothly and sat up, pushing the gun back under her pillow. "Morning, Jason."

Jason put the tray on the bedside table and sat down eyeing her warily. "You always greet potential sleep disturbers that way?"

"No, I was being friendly," she joked. "Normally I just shoot and ask questions later."

He half-smiled and she giggled. "I'm kidding. Manticore has… had bugle boys to wake us up."

"Bugle boys?" Jason smirked and Coco shrugged.

"Made sense to me."

"Good morning, Coco," he greeted and leaned over to press a kiss on her cheek.

She tucked her hair behind her ears and sighed. "I like this way of waking up."

"Hmm, orange juice with weaponry," he laughed. "I gotta admit that particular fantasy passed me by."

Coco chuckled as she reached for the juice and plate of pancakes.

Jason watched her eat in silence as he sipped his coffee, it was a comfortable silence and one that he didn't want to upset, but there were some things that he had to know.

"Uh, Coco?"

"Hmm?" she said with a mouth full of pancakes and syrup.

"What were your plans? You know now that you don't have to be soldier girl anymore?"

Coco froze and gently placed her fork on the plate. "I'll always be soldier girl, Jason. But now that I don't have to answer to Manticore? I don't know, my only thought was coming to see you, after that I was pretty much blank. Still am."

Jason's heart pounded at her confession even though she didn't look up.

"I guess if you want to see me, I need to get some sort of job and apartment or something. If you don't, I guess I should probably head back to Seattle to find my Unit," she bit her lip and finally looked up. "No pressure or anything."

"Coco, do you remember what I said when we had dinner that time? I'm hardly the type of guy for a woman like you, I'm a nerd; you could have anyone that you want."

"That a no?" she played with her fork wondering why that stung.

Jason tucked a finger under her chin and lifted her eyes to his, "I was falling for you when we had dinner, by dessert I was done. I was devastated when you left and all I can think about right now is kissing you."

Coco grabbed the back of his head, "Do more than think," and brought his eager lips to hers.

----

Skye and Steve sat with the rest of their unit playing cards and waiting for Alec to lose to Zan at Pool, Max had been bating them for hours and pretty soon Alec would lose his cool and Zan would win. Alec hated it when Max flirted with anyone and it made him sloppy. Zan knew it and wasn't afraid to play on it and was pleased that Max was playing along. She enjoyed watching Alec lose his cool as much as anyone, she said it was cute.

Flex leaned over and teased Skye as she put down three aces beating them all again. Cece groaned as she handed in her matches forfeiting her next turn. Cece had never really understood cards and often lost but the great thing about her was that no matter how often she lost, she was always willing to play, after all, she said, what were matches? It wasn't like she was scared of the dark. Chance poked her tongue out at her for that remark.

Speaking of scared though, Techie curled into his chair as far away from Feen— who was eyeing him lasciviously— as he could while Emma and Chance giggled at his terrified expression. That boy was so afraid of his girlfriend that even she found it funny. The boys had tried to tell him that he shouldn't let his fear rule him and yet they, too, wouldn't go near her to tell her that she scared him. Wimps the lot of them and Feen luxuriated in the power that the small bundle of sass held over them. Aiden and Dek arm-wrestled over the last chocolate biscuit with Anna egging them on, not noticing that B.J. had already eaten it. Drew rolled her eyes as she poured over another course book convinced that the test tomorrow would sneak something in that she wasn't prepared for. Mets watched her from the corner of his eye as he laid down two kings and Cece groaned again. B.J. was writing in the corner and ignoring them all as he brushed biscuit crumbs from his mouth. Steve tickled Skye's ear and she batted him away laughing at Coco's joke about the bugle boy with the black eye and Dek looked over sheepishly at the reminder. Then Biggs suddenly announced that he was tired and going to bed with Sunny, who laughed aloud and let him drag her away, Carrot and Tara following after. Pix made a joke about a four-some and Chance punched him moaning in disgust. Steve edged against Skye and started to elbow her in the side, gentle at first and then more and more painful.

She turned to give him a mouthful only to have him punch her ribs. With a painful gasp Skye woke up.

Galen had twisted in the night and he was shaking, his little mouth opening and closing but no sound emerging as he thrashed against her.

"Galen?" Skye shook him. "Galen wake up!"

The small boy opened his eyes wide, sweat making his fringe stick to his forehead, his breath was coming rapidly and his bottom lip trembled as he fought tears.

"It's okay, Galen, Skye's here." Skye wrapped her arms around his tiny body and rocked, her own lip trembling as she recalled her own dream. For a second it had all been so real. Her and Steve and the rest of them just hanging around like they used to do, just being in the same place talking and playing and having a few minutes of fun in the otherwise dark world of Manticore. It had never been a picnic or a great place to live, but just then, that moment, had been perfect and her heart hurt with longing of wanting that perfect moment back. A single tear escaped its confines and trailed down her cheek as she grabbed Galen and held him close rocking back and forth.

"I'm here," she choked. Galen looked up at her with wet chocolate eyes and burrowed into her neck, his flyaway hair tickling her. They sat that way for several moments in silence whilst Skye tried to calm down.

"Skye?"

She looked up to see Zeph standing at the bottom of the bed, his eyes red as he rubbed them.

"Yeah?"

"Did Galen have another nightmare?"

She nodded and Zeph came closer sitting on the end of the bed.

They had walked through the forest to find a place to stay for three weeks, stealing what they could and foraging so that they wouldn't be found. Two days ago they had found a tiny rundown shack on the outskirts of Seattle in some place called Tacoma which used to be part of a nature reserve. When the pulse hit the place spun out of control and the majority of it was vast woodlands and forests. It had been the perfect place to hide in and yet they needed civilisation. Flex had wandered into town leaving Skye in the shack with the Greeks and gone to look for food.

He'd come back with a job, a pay check and a place to stay.

Skye hadn't taken much convincing to bring them all into the city and to the place that had been given to Flex in return for his work.

It wasn't a great place to live, a small three bed-roomed house situated by the centre of what was once the national park. It wasn't too far from the town, close enough to get to the market and the scattered shops, but far enough so that they could have peace and quiet, away from prying eyes.

Skye had settled in with the Greeks and used the last few days to rest and come to terms with things.

With Nyx and Icarus in one room and Isacar and Zeph in the other, Galen hadn't wanted to part with Skye and she let him sleep in with her and Flex, wanting the comfort of the small child even as he craved hers. Flex hadn't minded, tired as he was from his job, he just wanted to sleep.

Zeph clambered on the bed and stared at Skye.

"Did you have a bad dream too?"

Skye couldn't get over the fascination that Zephyr had with her, she had never been one for small children and yet the tiny dynamo was totally taken with her, his eyes often following he around the room and he would do anything for her. It was unnerving.

"Small one," she confessed. "What are you doing up this early, Zeph?"

"Flex gave us some money and said we were supposed to buy some clothes, I think he meant you were taking us shopping or something."

Skye nodded, she had discussed this with Flex and knew that the Greeks had to have more than the faded, ripped and torn khakis that she had washed the moment they had hot running water. They were so used to communal Manticore showers that the idea of running around naked in front of each other was nothing to them and they had sat in front of the fire as their clothes dried. All the same if they were to go out into human society they needed more sets than that unless they wanted to attract the unwitting attention of the social services.

"Okay, uh, shopping for clothes, right. I guess we'd better get breakfast then , huh," She nudged Galen who smiled up at her and pressed an innocent kiss to her nose. Skye laughed.

"Nyx and Icarus are already cooking breakfast," Zeph said. "But I think Nyxie might punch Icarus if she doesn't stop talking."

Skye understood totally, Icarus was sweet enough, often reminding her of Sunny, but the girl could talk for America and she wanted to talk to Skye all of the time. Skye wasn't sure how to react to that. She wasn't a child person and had no idea how to talk to them… What she was, was a soldier.

She was a good soldier.

"Okay, up now!" she picked up Galen and tossed him gently to Zeph feeling rewarded with Galen's giggle at the action. "Okay, our mission is to stop the bloodshed between Icarus and Nyx and to shop for clothes. Will you accept the mission?"

Zeph saluted, followed quickly by Galen, "Yes, ma'am."

"Very well," Skye nodded glad that she had found a way to deal with them. "To the kitchen!"

--

"So none of the Special Ops team or Unit 8 have made it here at all?" Feen sagged and Mole fought the urge to reach across and pat the young girl on the head.

"Don't worry your head about it, Red," he said. "Sooner or later all the Xs will show here."

Feen bit her lip and leaned against the console where Dix was working with his computer.

"I was so sure that some of them would have made it here already," she shook her head, her curls floating around her face. "I miss my friends."

"Yeah, well," Mole scratched his head. "I'm just glad ta be outta that hellhole."

"Oh, me too," Feen smiled at him. "So what are you working on?"

"Me and the boys are trying to fix some sort of security system together. Sooner or later we are gonna have problems with the ordinaries and I wanna be prepared."

Feen nodded and leaned over Dix, "Correlate that code to the feedback, which should help the link-up," she turned back to Mole. "What kind of set-up do you have here already?"

"Each section has their own security, I think. Transhumans tend to stay with transhumans and Xs with Xs, anomalies with their kind. We don't tend to mix it up."

"That's dumb," Feen said in her usual manner. "We are all transgenics, Max used to say that no matter what we look like on the outside, we all have a barcode and that makes us in this together."

"Max?"

"X5-452."

"Oh, the one who set up the signal?" Dix turned in interest. "That was smart thinking."

Feen nodded, "She and 494—Alec—set things so we can trust each other. Which is why it's dumb that everyone is segregated. It would be so much better if we all teamed up to make this place secure."

"Xs think they are above freaks because they can mix with ordinaries," Dix filled in. "They see us as a burden coz we can't go amongst the outsiders and get food and whatever."

"Huh," Feen considered this and tucked her hand in her jean pockets. One of their first days out of Manticore they had found an old abandoned laundry and had stolen some clothes that had been left behind. She planned to go shopping and steal… borrow some new threads as soon as possible.

"Xs like your pal Anna, don't want to hang out here much," Mole gestured over to where the Chinese girl was sitting in one corner away from everyone, working on some calculations.

Feen looked away and shrugged, "Anna isn't exactly what you'd call sociable. She'd be the same on Oak Street, Main street or back in Manticore. She's an acquired taste."

Mole chuckled and glared at those who stared up at him, "Speaking of acquired tastes, where's your boyfriend?"

"Techie was off on Oak Street, possibly hunting for info on our friends, but most likely avoiding me."

"Avoiding you?"

"Hmm," Feen smiled. "He's scared of me, it's fine."

Mole raised a scaly eyebrow, "Your guy is scared of you?"

Feen giggled, "Techie has always been terrified of me; do I look scary to you?"

Mole eyed the tiny redhead with bright eyes and mischievous smile. "Not at all."

"Good, I like to have the upper hand."

Mole decided that as Xs went, this was one he could grow to like having around.

----

Chance was so tired but she couldn't sleep, her Shark DNA was rampant tonight and no matter how much she wanted to curl into a ball and seek oblivion, her eyes were wide open. She rolled over in bed and stared at a sleeping Pix, his face relaxed and vulnerable and suddenly had the urge to hit him.

She pulled herself out of bed, tugging on Pix's white shirt, and walked over to the window, the pane glistening in the moonlight despite its less that pristine colour. The motel that they were staying in was easily one of the most disgusting places that she had ever seen, but at least it was cheap and somewhere to sleep. Even if they did have to lay a blanket over the bed so they didn't have to touch the disgusting mattress. The problem was that not many people came through Carnation. Since the pulse hit, the main industrial district had filtered out and left pretty much a ghost town, with only a few scattered cafes and factories to support the few workers, and they were all full. There was no one rich enough to steal off and there was nothing of any worth stealing. To Chance the place was dirty, decrepit and totally off the map so Renfro wouldn't be looking for them there. She wouldn't expect her soldiers to live in filth when they could head to the big cities and pick any pocket. In that way it was ideal for keeping them out of sight until the heat died down, whether that took weeks, months or…

Chance bit back a sob at the thought of not seeing Biggs or Alec or Feen for a year. Pix turned over on the bed and Chance hugged herself closer to the wall, sliding down it until she was sat on the carpet under the window. The fading moonlight casting shadows on her bare legs, she didn't want to wake Pix. He had been so great, no matter how inconsistent her moods became he was there by her side trying to give her what she needed, when she wasn't even sure what it was that she wanted. One second she'd be fine and the next she'd want to scream and cry and be held. But when he held her she knew that there was something wrong and it hurt that, no matter how much she loved and adored him, Pix wasn't enough right now.

She felt guilty even thinking it.

She loved him so much that it was like a vice around her heart and yet there was something missing. What was it that made her skin itch and her hands grab for something that just wasn't there? What was it that made her want to be a million miles away and yet never leave his side? Why wasn't she content to have him there with her?

She clenched her fists tighter letting her nails cut into her palms.

"Chance?" Pix raised his head and saw her sitting under the window, anguish written on her face. He sat up and peered down at her watching while tears made their way down her face.

"Couldn't sleep?"

Chance used the sleeve of the shirt to rub across her face and shook her head silently.

Pix watched her for a bit longer and then pushed the covers back to stand up. "How about I make us some coffee?"

Chance nodded, feeling wretched that he didn't ask and yet knew that she'd yell at him if he did. Tears slipped down her cheeks and Pix stood in front of her hesitantly.

He held out his hands and Chance staggered to her feet and threw herself into his strong arms, sobbing her heart out onto his strong chest.

"I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry."

"Shh baby, it's okay."

Pix soothed her and kissed her silky soft hair muttering nonsense to calm her racing heart.

"Tomorrow we pick up our check from Fabio, we cash it and we head back to Seattle," he said decisively.

Chance pulled back and gaped at him.

"No, Renfro will…"

Pix placed a hand over her lips, "We find Biggs, and Max and Alec and Feen or we die trying. I won't let you hurt like this."

Her eyes were hopeful at his confident assurance and he smiled his usual rakish grin. "Besides I think if I play one more trick on Fabio he'll kick me out anyway."

Chance giggled and Pix knew that he had made the right decision. He promised that he'd keep her safe and he would, he'd have more scope in Seattle anyway.

He picked her up and tucked her into bed, kissing her nose before heading to the kitchen. "I'll make us that coffee."

----

The amber drink in front of him wasn't doing its job, thought Aiden as he stared down at the small amount of liquid sitting in his glass.

Alcohol, especially double whisky wasn't supposed to slip down like lemonade. He peered at the barman suspiciously and wondered if he was watering down the drink.

"Hmm," he narrowed his eyes and pulled his drink closer, in case they did try anything with it.

Dek's lips twitched, "Uh, Aiden, pal. I think you've had enough."

Aiden glared at his dark haired friend who was laughing at him, "But Dek, water doesn't make a man drunk. Whisky doesn't make a transgenic drink…drank."

"Drunk," Dek corrected, "And yes it does if he has had eight doubles in a row. Even trannies only have one liver."

"Spoil-sport," Aide pouted and Dek fought the urge to laugh uproariously at his friend. It wouldn't preserve the right image. His eyes scouted around the dark bar with its rustic charms, a 'real western' bar in the middle of Seattle, the TV, playing some baseball game, fixed to the wall; the barman rubbing glasses that didn't look like they had ever been washed let alone needed drying and the dark panelled wood giving a homey feel to the almost empty barroom. He glanced over to the other end of the bar where two men sat in shadows; he smirked and turned back to the bar.

Two days ago Dek had begun subtle enquiries into how to purchase or offload certain elusive and hazardous items of a delicate nature. He'd been pointed this way and was told that this was a feeding ground for purchasers and sellers. In other words, if you want in on the black-market, haul ass to Tavern C and wait.

Of course Aiden had come with him to make sure that he didn't get into trouble and had started to drink, that was entertainment in itself, but Dek had been waiting for hours and he had finally uncovered something worth waiting for.

He sauntered over to the other end of the bar and sat by a bulky man wearing a white and red baseball hat and smoking a cigarette, his beer clasped in one hand and the other on his knee. His dark hair, liberally smattered with white was shaggy and unkempt, curling under the rim of the cap to lie flat against his large neck. His checked shirt hid the majority of his beer-belly but the folded back sleeves exposed impressive forearms suggesting that he was more than he seemed.

"Hey there, Stan," Dek greeted. "Enjoy the game?"

The man eyed him and shrugged.

Dek pulled up the collar on his leather jacket and ordered another beer and one for his new pal, 'Stan'. He didn't care if that was the guy's name, it didn't matter much anyway. All he wanted to know was if the man could be a potential buyer.

"So, Stan, you a big Cubs fan?"

'Stan' sat up straighter, his eyes alert and fixed on his beer. "Maybe, I am. What's it to ya?"

"You hear about Sammy Sosa's baseball getting stolen?" Dek shook his head. "Right out from under the guards noses, damn shame."

_Come on 'Stan', tell me you're interested._

"756 runs," 'Stan' ventured. "Lotta mileage on that one."

Dek nodded, "What I wouldn't give for that, why the sentimental value alone is priceless."

"I'd say more ten grand," 'Stan' said and Dek grinned into his beer as the buyer named his price.

"No way," Dek argued. "Twenty at least."

"Twelve?"

"Seventeen."

"Sixteen, no more, no less," 'Stan' stated definitely.

Dek nodded, considering. "Yeah, I guess that it would, shame no one knows where it is. You come here a lot, Stan?"

"Most days, every other when the wife lets me out."

"Got no wife, got a drinking buddy," he looked over at Aiden who was explaining in great detail to his whisky that animals could sense danger. "I think he's had his limit. Maybe I'll see you around," Dek rifled in his pocket for some cash and threw it on the bar to cover his drink and Stan's. "Bye Stan."

Stan nodded and turned back to the game.

Dek walked over to Aiden, "Aide?"

"Shh," Aiden said. "I'm bonding."

"With the whisky?" Dek asked dryly.

"It's special Whisky," Aiden insisted and looked down into the almost empty glass. "I miss B.J."

"Yeah," Dek sighed and raked a hand through his hair. B.J.'s dark humour was always appreciated.

Aiden continued. "I miss Pix and Flex."

"Oh yeah," Pix's jokes would really come in handy right now to cheer him up and Flex always made everyone laugh enough to forget their problems.

"And Sunny."

"Yeah." Damn she was sweet and had that mommy thing that made them feel cared for.

Aiden frowned into his whisky. "And Anna."

Dek stared at him, "You've had enough." Dek grabbed Aiden's elbow and hauled him out of his chair and dragged him to the exit.

"No more whisky for you!"

---

"Oh hey, Carrot."

Carrot gritted his teeth and tried to calm himself with twenty-three different ways of removing Logan Cale's teeth—without anaesthetic—then he turned around and looked down at the man in the wheelchair.

"Logan."

"How did things go on the other side of the fence?"

"Do you mean did I find out who ripped off the Mayor's Town car?"

Logan nodded and Carrot leaned against the counter, grabbing an apple from the fruit basket.

"Sure, I found it over in Sector 4."

Logan frowned, "Huh."

"With about five hundred hits of ecstasy in the trunk."

Logan's jaw dropped unattractively. "Well, did you find out who took it?"

"Sure," Carrot allowed himself a small smile. "Was this a personal favour to the Mayor from Eyes Only?"

"Hardly," Logan folded his arms over his chest. "The Mayor is a major crook. I have been looking to bring him down for months." He prompted, "Well?"

"Well," Carrot took a bite of his apple. "I traced the ecs to that dealer over in Sector 4, you know Mario. Well, Mario got it off Sherrie who he pimps for."

Logan frowned, "The hooker stole it?"

"Uh uh, Sherrie got it off his Honour as a gift."

"That what she says?" Logan said sceptically.

"No, that's what the signed pink slip says," Carrot grinned. "Apparently the Mayor was so blasted he gave it to her. Sherrie says she won't go to the press if he drops charges against Mario."

Logan stifled a laugh. "Really?"

"Oh and she really wants to keep the car."

"I'll pass on the message."

Carrot nodded and bit into his apple. "So what did you call me here for, oh Yoda?"

Logan glowered at him, "Been watching TV?"

Carrot dropped the casual act and glared hard at Logan. "Not a lot else to do when you're holding my girlfriend hostage."

Okay, that was a slight exaggeration. It was just that Logan was keeping her so busy at the paper all day and he was off on missions most of the night. if he had a really sceptical nature—which he did—he'd think Logan was actively trying to keep them apart—which he did.

"Tara isn't held hostage," Logan protested. "She's in gainful employment."

"So am I." Carrot said icily. "What do you want, Logan?"

Logan sighed at having to deal with the overprotective and irate transgenic. "I got a call off the police radio about a half our ago. Some guy spotted a dog in his yard."

"Alert the presses," Carrot deadpanned.

"But then he said it was a man, a dog-man. Then two, two dog-men."

"Either call AA or animal control, doesn't have anything to do with me," Carrot was tired and knew that Tara would be home soon. He wanted to go back and wait for her there with Cece. He turned on his heel and walked back towards the door thinking of curling up on the sofa with Tara and teasing Cece.

"One with a barcode."

Carrot stopped in his tracks and rolled his eyes before turning around. "A barcode?"

"A barcode."

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on.

"If I do this, I want something."

"What?" Logan grinned. "Except for the job, the money and the apartment?"

"Cece hasn't been feeling herself; Tara thinks it's to do with her DNA. I need some medication for headaches and nausea."

"You know if I could meet this Cece, I'm sure I could—"

"No," stated Carrot firmly. There was no way that he was going to introduce Cece to Logan to be just another pawn in whatever game Eyes Only was playing. "Just the medication."

"Fine," Logan suddenly smirked. "After all I wouldn't want you to get upset with me, would I? I can get it by this afternoon. Make sure you come back."

"Sure, fine, whatever."

"As for the dog-man?"

He _really_ hated Logan Cale.

"Where?"

Logan smiled.

---

"Hundred-Forty-seven… Hundred-Forty-Eight… Hundred-Forty-Nine… Hundred-Fifty!"

Drew let her arms drop her to the floor and she rested her head against the soft carpet, the sweat missing with the fibres.

"Damn, wish I could still do that."

Drew smiled into the plush carpeting. "I used to be able to do three hundred without breaking a sweat."

"Yeah, well," Ed walked in with his dog at his feet. "I think with your injuries, you're kinda entitled to some slack."

Drew nodded and hauled herself to her feet, sitting back on the bed. "I'll be glad when I can get back to myself, I'm sick of being weak."

"Not exactly weak," Ed muttered as he handed her the newspaper. "If I'd just suffered the internal damage that you did I wouldn't be able to change a tire, let alone check over the engine. Thanks for that, by the way."

"She running?"

"Like a dream."

Drew grinned. After a few days in bed, Drew had insisted that she earn her keep and so Ed had given her little jobs to do around the house, everything from peeling vegetables to walking the dog. Then she had gone into his garage and fallen in love with his old car; a classic 1968 Oldsmobile with cherry-red paintwork—under the rust—and black leather seats. It was a wreck and Drew vowed that before she left she would fix it up for Ed. She had a good start by fixing the engine and checking the internal workings, which left her more tired than she liked, but at least she felt like she was helping out, or paying him back for his kindness; although there was something that she wanted to talk to him about.

"Ed?"

"Yeah?"

Drew bit her lip, "I miss my family and I want to find them."

Ed nodded and sat down on the bed next to her stroking Nancy's head with his strong hands. The dog yipped in appreciation. "I get that, I do. But if this Renny—"

"Renfro," Drew corrected.

"Renfro and her goons are out to getcha, you need to be in fighting fit form. Right now, you look like you went ten rounds with Nancy here and lost six."

Drew laughed at that as she stared at the floppy eared, droopy-eyed mutt lolling at her feet. "I guess."

"Rest up," Ed nudged her "Get your strength back. You're more good to 'em healthy than broken."

Drew nodded, his words making sense. "I just wish they were here."

"I don't!" Ed said and her head snapped up. "Well, with how much you eat, I couldn't take two of ya!"

Thinking of the tiny portion that she managed to swallow this morning Drew laughed.

Ed patted her knee and stood up, "Get you some rest, now, pretty one. You'll be back with those brothers of yours soon."

Drew watched as Ed hobbled away.

"I hope so."

---

She looked like an angel, though Zan as he stroked Emma's hair spilling in a halo around her head on her pillow. Her dark spiky hair with its red streaks had grown out so that the dark brunette locks reached her shoulder and curled around her nape in an enticing way, framing her delicate, pale features.

Zan smiled at her glad that she was asleep. The poor girl hadn't had much rest these past few days, seemingly spending most of her time tossing and turning to try to purchase some peace.

He stroked her hair again and sighed.

This wasn't exactly how he'd seen his life on the outside, when he had thought of it.

He'd imagined himself with Max and Pix, hanging around making jokes, maybe getting a job somewhere together and having a blast. He didn't begrudge Emma or her need to be taken care of, but he wished that it hadn't been him.

Oh, he loved the girl, she was just like Sunny to him, a dear sister, but she'd never be Max. He may have gotten over his crush on his Unit mate but there would always be that bond between them and it stung that she couldn't be near him.

"Nono," whispered Emma and Zan shushed her quietly.

"Its okay, Em, I'm here now."

Emma went back to sleep never knowing about the man that sat there all night just watching over her.

----

"I'm back!"

"In here!" Icarus called and Flex grinned, dropping his bag and making his way back into the kitchen where the noises were coming from.

"Hey guys, what's happening?"

"Me and Nyx are trying to teach Isacar how to cook."

"Pointless exercise," drawled Isacar. "That's what fast food is for."

Flex hid a smile at Icarus's glare at her brother. While Icarus reminded him of Sunny, Isacar was a mixture of Dek's dry wit and Aiden's quiet confidence. He never failed to make Flex grin.

"Hey Skye," he greeted and she flickered a small smile in his general direction.

Galen was on her knee and she was pointing to words in a book and sounding them out for the small boy.

Zeph was sitting by her side with a book in front of him.

"Hey Zeph, what are you reading?"

"Midsummer Night's Dream," Zeph shook his head and looked up. "I think Mr. Shakespeare was a Psy-Ops case."

"Agreed," Isacar said. "Wait until you get to King Lear, it's… fun."

"Give me a chance, I'm only nine," Zeph reminded.

"I'm just impressed you're sitting still long enough to read," Flex remarked as he sat on the table tickling Galen who cast him a sweet smile.

"We went shopping today," Nyx informed him with her usual serious tone. "We have enough groceries to last two weeks and we bought some clothing."

"That's great, anything nice?"

Nyx raised an eyebrow and Flex bit back another grin. "Let me guess, nothing in pink?"

Icarus giggled as Nyx sighed in long-suffering and turned back to her mixing bowl.

He turned to Skye. "Everything okay, Skye?"

"Fine," her voice was short. "I bought you some shirts and some jeans."

"Thanks." He was stung at the shortness in her voice. She had been this way for most of the past two weeks. He had thought that maybe she was becoming stir crazy or getting fed up with being stuck in all day with the Greeks. "Hey, we could always eat out tonight. I was told that there was this great Mexican place in town. It's a hike but that way we'd work up an appetite. Fancy it?"

"I'm in!" Zeph crowed and slammed his book shut.

Skye looked up and pinned him with a look. "The girls have been cooking all morning and you want to go out?"

Flex bit his lip, "Sorry girls, I wasn't thinking."

"That's for sure," Skye snapped.

"Hey, I said I was sorry."

"It'll freeze," Icarus said quickly, ever the peace maker. "I like Mexican."

"It's a waste of money since we bought enough food today. Don't forget there are seven of us for it to go around."

Even Nyx winced at the sharp tone in Skye's voice.

"Skye, I said I was sorry. The dinner looks great," Flex beamed at Icarus and Nyx. "I'm starving."

"Whatever." Skye stood up and walked out of the room.

Zeph watched her go and turned worried eyes back to Flex. He sighed as he felt five pairs of eyes watching him.

"It's okay," he soothed. "She doesn't mean to be crabby. Our old Unit was like family and she's just missing them."

"I always thought that Special Ops and Unit 8 were the same," Icarus said. "You all seemed to mix so well together."

Flex nodded, "That we did. Look, Skye is out of sorts, she didn't mean anything by that."

"That's what you said yesterday," Isacar pointed out. "Are we a burden, because we could always get jobs ourselves?"

"No!" Flex said firmly. "You are not a burden. Skye doesn't mean that. It's true that because there are seven of us there is less money, but we are Manticore, okay, we'll make it fit."

"I can economise," Icarus said bravely and Flex leaned over to kiss her head.

"Good girl," he sighed. "I'm gonna give Skye a hand."

"Make sure she doesn't bite it off," offered Isacar dryly.

Flex walked into the front room where Skye sat on the sofa.

"Hey, you know you look like Skye and talk like Skye… but you're acting like Anna."

"What?"

Flex sat by her side, "She-who-must-be-obeyed? The voice of treason? Anna the bitch?"

"I'm that bad?" she winced.

"Recently, yeah."

"Sorry," she leaned against him. "I guess I'm having issues."

"Aren't we all," he said wryly. "Skye, those kids in there have been through hell, right there along with us they have seen some pretty nasty stuff. Go easy on them. They have the same guilt trip thing that the Trainers stuck on us and they hadn't time to make the Unit their own like we did."

Skye turned to him, "Are they okay?"

"You scared them."

She sighed, "Damn, I was never very good with kids."

"We never had to be. Now we do."

"I'm not a natural like you," she pointed out.

"They're okay; just think of them as mini-people."

Skye giggled and nodded, "Mini-people?"

"Like mini-skittles, only you can't knock them about as much." Flex wrapped his arm around her and rested his chin on her head. "Don't look now but we're being watched!"

Skye slowly turned her head to see Galen's head peeking around the corner with Zeph's just above it.

"It's all clear!" Flex called. "Hurricane Skye has blown over!"

"Yay!" Zeph raced in and launched himself at Flex. Galen crawled onto Skye's lap and draped his hands around her neck.

"Do I look like monkey bars?" Flex asked Zeph who shrugged.

"Never been in a monkey bar," he said cheekily. "Too young to drink!"

"All right, that's enough!" Flex yelled light-heartedly. "Why do I get surrounded by smart-asses?"

Skye waited until she was in the doorway before she answered playfully. "Because next to you, anyone's smart!"

With a gasp of mock-outrage Flex chased her into the kitchen.

----

Syl winced as she pulled her shoulder slightly. Okay, painting with rambunctious ten year olds while recovering from a bullet wasn't the best of ideas. But she loved her job and had wanted to get back to it so had left Seattle as soon as possible. Zack wasn't pleased about her decision and Ben had been furious, but Syl knew her place.

While she was as worried about little Maxie as the rest she also was aware that if Max wanted to go to ground, which she undoubtedly would as a member of Special Ops, then there was little that either Syl or Zack could do to find her.

"Mack Dreyfuss, if you put that in Amy's hair I'll tie you to the desk!" she called as a tyrannical ten year old blinked innocently with his paintbrush brandished in the air.

Syl sighed as she massaged her shoulder where the bullet had entered and pulled her long blonde hair back into a ponytail so that it didn't dip in the paint again.

The trouble with Zack was that he wanted to protect everyone and he didn't realise that they were old enough to lead their own lives without his interference. She knew that he still thought of them as his little siblings who needed their big brother in order to function in the big bad world. Maybe that had been true at one time, but Syl had rapidly grown out of the need to fill in Zack on every aspect of her life.

In fact, she hadn't even needed him back in Manticore. She was more than an adequate second in command and had quickly formulated a plan to integrate into the enemy world. Syl had turned up on the steps of a police station and said that her guardian had tried to hurt her so she had run away. The police were sympathetic and had taken her straight away to a foster agency, her blonde hair and elfin looks had quickly secured her a place and she had quite a good childhood. Good when compared to someone like Seth whose foster father had tried to abuse him—before Seth had broken his arm that was—and had spent most of his young years running from one bad situation to another. Zack had found her after about two years on the outside and she had informed him that, while she was happy to see him, she didn't need his interference and she wasn't going to move on, thank you very much.

"Mack, we paint on paper, not on walls!"

Of course Zack had ranted and raved about the need to lie low and keep of Lydecker's radar and Syl had patiently listened, smiling and nodding and then told him to shut up. She was second in command and she was fine where she was and leaving her foster situation would draw more attention to her that staying put would. Zack had, reluctantly, agreed and she had let him go.

"If I have to tell you again, Mack, to put that down, you'll be sorry!"

Her life had been uneventful—despite her luck with men—and she liked it like that. She still had contact with her foster parents, who were sweet and supportive, and she was in constant contact with Krit, the one of her brothers who had ignored Zack's dire warnings and travelled to see her.

She remembered the union with a smile. He'd come to see her during class time and she had looked up from the history class to see a strange dark haired man peering into the classroom. She had immediately thought that he was some pervert wanting to run off with one of her kids and she had stood up, her eyes flashing only to see him look at her with a twinkle in his, oh so familiar, eyes and poke his tongue out at her the way he had done while they were back at Manticore.

That class had never forgotten the girly squeal that Ms. Crayford had given as she had seen her long lost brother and the dance she had done as she had thrown herself into his arms.

"Mack, you're not allowed to pin Marcy's braids to the table."

Syl shook her head self- depreciatingly as she thought of how giddy she had been to see Krit. Of course, she was still that way whenever she saw him. He had never felt brotherly to her and she had a sneaking suspicion that her feelings for him were more than sisterly, something that she desperately wanted to hide from him. He had seen some of her more spectacular relationship failures and the last thing she needed was for her one saving grace to feel sorry for her. He was the one who really understood her and there was no way she was going to jeopardise that with some silly sentimental nonsense. She half grinned as she realised that she sounded like Zack.

As a blob of blue paint sailed past her nose Syl realised that she really should be paying attention to her class rather than her non-relationships.

"Mack!"

------

* * *

Crazy-Vampire Slayer- I think its safe to say that people will make it to TC, even if certain ones are no longer with us at that point.

Given Alias- yeah I think 50 pages is pushing it a bit too much! Sorry sweets!

SGOU- I have a very young Brad Pitt in mind for Jason, I think it fits somehow. The Skye thing gets more prominent and culminates in an explosion. That should be fin to watch… read. I adore Carrot here, he wasn't a favourite originally but he is growing on me! You guessed at least one of my plans! But I'm not saying which one!

Jade- ain't they just adorable? I thought it made more sense than the familiars at any rate.

Lynsi- I think Logan didn't have Max's softening influence so he is more of an ass in this story, and hmm don't BJ and Jace make a cute couple? Hehe no!

Lynn- 50670- We will uncover more about poor little Emma's condition soon. And yeah Jace is _the_ Jace.

Natacup82- Much more Drew and Dek here. And future chapters are Dek-ful!

Messymissy- yeah huge story. There is so much to write about too! Yeah the bit about the Sharks is true. Amazing what research does for ya huh? If you think TC in the first place it was a city, just abandoned buildings that noone wanted to go near. Word of mouth would have made it the place to go, but its still not exactly what you'd think yet.

TiffanyAnn- sorry about the withdrawal. I check often for updates… and then remember I have to write them! Oh yeah I wouldn't leave my angst! There will be tears to come.

Sigma1- LOL, okay Drew back with others… uh might have to take a raincheck.

Natasqi- that's okay, I think we are caught up on where everyone is right now. Cheers pet.

Lozz422- its also true, which is a bonus too. Zack and Jondy? Huh. Interesting.

Moonlite star- oh I will, I adore the Greeks. I think I love little Zeph and Isacar!

Geminangel- Its great that you can think that. I sometimes see something or hear something and think—oh that is so Dek or Aiden. Makes me wonder if I'm strange.

Kayelie- hey sweets, thank you very much fro reviewing. Please continue to enjoy!

Ganko- he he wowed? I like that. yeah its not lie the SO girls are shy at all!

Fangedangel- I wouldn't say that they don't like her… it's just that they don't 'get' her. She is a bit of a bitch. It's all in fun…except when its not.

Lotamoxie- that was a sweet compliment. They didn't show much of the other xs in the show did they? That was sad, Biggs would have been a great character. Dek and Drew are my faves too.

Suzanne- Yup Jace is BJ's new boss. It's a small world!

Black Rose9- aw if everyone met up it would be the end! This way is fun.

Seorita-DHL- I was without the net for two weeks, I went a little crazy! Uh actually you aren't right, at least not 100.

Mrs- haven't forgotten about her. She will appear in a while though once they crawl out of the wood work.

Angel of darkness231- I was trying not to think of your sore butt—really I was. Everyone seems to think that Zack and Jondy should be together but I'm not so sure.

Guest type person- hey chick, thanks for the email too. Glad you like! Aw I'm sorry you cried and I miss Steve and Mets but life goes on.

Arwen amy- its nice to be back, I have to admit that.

Kim- admittedly yes, it is a lot to pack in but I hope I can do it. she says!!

Elfie- yeah Coco is first to know and she isn't as bothered about finding the others, after all she was more independent. Yep I went to Vegas- well remembered Cookie for you! And yeah the hotel description is from the Luxor- classic hotel. I haven't mentioned the Jonas thing but I assume, since he didn't have to justify himself to Max, that Logan let him get away with it hence the money for Carrot and Tara. Interesting theory on Jace's last name. have to think. She didn't notice about BJ or visa versa simply because they aren't thinking of other X's just yet. Yeah the stuff about Sharks is true and good way of explain8ing things. I'm using the felines as social from Lion DNA, saves time. long review- long response!

Lyndsay- glad that it isn't too confusing then, I was worried that it might be with the skipping about.

Lynn- its okay to like this as much as Mal, I think I do to, since the characters are coming alive even more for me. I love Dek- more Dek, lots more Dek! Yeah Chance's life- not so funny. Poor girl.

Ru- I did promise and I am trying hard to carry on with it. its all fun and games. And yeah Chance and Pix would do the same wouldn't they? Sweet couple. I don't think that Sunny would let Biggs have all the fun—after all she is a Special Ops girl. we know what they are like! Aw my fan! Thank you!


	4. Making friends with reality

IMPORTANT A/N- okay I am feeling very discouraged at the moment and could do with some pepping up. I haven't read any DA in about four/five months and, honestly, I think the fic is starting to reflect that.

**Please review if you read and offer suggestions.**

Also if someone could please recommend me some decent recent fic to read or remind me why I love DA, it would be most appreciated and might speed up production.

Thank you.

Fayth

----

* * *

**Chapter 4. Making friends with reality.**

Flex sighed as he dropped his shovel, bringing his forearm up to swipe beads of sweat away from his forehead. He was all for physical labour, but he was exhausted by the heavy manual work that he had to do here. He grabbed the water bottle that lay in the dirt and took a great swallow, letting the cool, refreshing liquid soothe his throat.

At least that was something that could be soothed, unlike his temper.

Flex saw himself as an easy-going sort of guy. He very rarely lost his cool and even more rarely lost his temper and yet this morning he had done both.

He sighed as his hands clenched around the bottle in his hand, his sweat making it slippery on his grasp.

He had awoken to the sounds of Skye having another nightmare and he had hurriedly moved a sleeping Galen away from her shaking body in case she lashed out in her sleep, like she had a tendency of doing. The last thing they needed was for the quietest member of their impromptu 'family' being traumatised because his surrogate 'mother' smacked him in the face in her sleep.

He had placed Galen on the other side of him and tried to wake Skye, getting that anticipated slap in the face before she awoke.

"Hey, sleeping… Rambo," he had said, rubbing his jaw.

"Flex?" she had sounded like she wasn't sure where she was and he had lost the smart-ass edge and stroked her cheek.

"Yeah, sweetheart, it's me. You okay?"

She closed her eyes and Flex had been stung by the rejection in that action. "Fine," she said icily.

Flex pulled away and glared down at her. "That's crap, you're not fine."

"Leave it," she ordered and this time Flex pulled away completely and got out of bed. He'd grabbed Galen and swung him into his arms.

Skye sat up as he removed the sleeping boy and her eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing?"

"We have to talk," he bit out and placed Galen in bed with Zephyr who muttered and wrapped his arms around his new baby 'brother'.

When he'd come back into the room Skye had been sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees glaring at him.

"What about?"

"This, you… us."

Skye raised an eyebrow, "Us?"

Flex dug his hands into his pockets and stared at her. "Yes."

Skye made a gesture with her hands for him to continue.

Now that he had her attention he wasn't sure what to say to her. "I care about you a lot and I've been damn patient with you. But I am sick of you shutting me out. I know that you are hurting; you don't think I am too? Steve was my friend too."

"He was my brother."

"Mine too," he snapped at her cool tone. "I may not be blood related to the guy but I spent more time with him that you did and he was my family too. But that's not the point here."

"Please enlighten me."

"You are using me." There he said it. It was what had been worrying him for almost a month.

"What?" her voice was incredulous.

"You are using me, Skye. We were thrown together for propinquity and convenience sake. We were in the same cell when Manticore went down and you've been… stuck with me ever since. The Greeks were an additional burden for you and you seem to have settled. I'm beginning to think that the only reason you are staying with me is because I'm providing money and a place to live. I'm starting to feel like a cash machine, Skye and it bites big time. I may not have been the most responsible person at Manticore but suddenly having five kids and girl to take care of by myself isn't a picnic. I need support, even verbally and as much as I care about you, I can't do this any more."

Her eyes went wide, "What?"

"You won't talk to me or even look at me. I told you that I was there for you but you haven't even bothered to be there for me. I'm hurting too, Skye." His voice was raw as he let his feelings show. He'd been bottling this for a month and he couldn't hold it in right now. "Withdrawing from us all is something that Max did and you remember where that got her? Alone and scared, full of pain and… and… dammit!" He raked a hand through his hair. "I'm sick of it. I'm sick of you looking through me. I'm sick of making excuses for you to the Greeks. I'm sick of you trying to be the big bad soldier. And I'm sick of you using me as the scapegoat. Do you even care about me, Skye? Do you… Fuck this, I'm going to work."

He'd grabbed his shirt off the bedroom floor and stalked out, letting the front door slam behind him.

Flex picked up his shovel, glad for the work to take his anger out on. Every word that he'd said had been true. She lashed out so many times at him and he knew that it was only a matter of time before she started to take it out on the Greeks and that was one thing that they didn't need. Those children had been through hell and they didn't have the mechanics to deal with it yet. Not like him and Skye who had twenty years to get used to it.

Galen had only been in the facility for two years, max, after his release from wherever they held the pre-soldier babies and he was too traumatised by the abrupt change to even speak much. He was about six years old and could assemble a gun properly, yet couldn't say a sentence.

Icarus and Isacar were about thirteen and so were starting to deal better with the facility and everything that they were expected to do. They hadn't gotten jaded like sixteen year old Nyx and who knew what was going through the nine year old mind of the dynamo Zeph. He mystified Flex who was beginning to suspect that he'd grow up like Pix.

He half grinned at the thought.

"Hey Flex!"

Flex spun to see his foreman, Mike coming towards him with his beefy arms waving in greeting.

"Hey, Mike."

"Glad to see you smiling, thought you were ready to kill someone this morning!"

Flex choked on a laugh. How accurate was that.

"Lemme guess, fight with the little lady?"

"I wouldn't call her that to her face," Flex said. "Besides she's not exactly my lady."

And sometimes he wondered if that wasn't the crux of the matter. He had feelings for Skye that much he knew, and while they were still at Manticore he had been— sort of— courting her. He'd never been the serious type and had never thought much beyond his flirting.

The one time he had allowed it to go further was curtailed by the explosion of Manticore and that was with Skye. He wanted to be with her, in every sense.

She had grown on him, kinda like a disease, he thought in amusement. Sure there were a few symptoms but it wasn't until they were isolated that he realised how bad it was. They shared something, even if it was just survivor's guilt.

He shared a bed with her; they kissed and hugged and made innuendos but was it love? Did he love her?

Damned if he knew.

"Ahh, like that is it?" Mike said knowledgably, jamming his hands into his deep jean pockets and smiling. He was a big man, more muscular than fat thanks to his physical job. His hard hat covered the mop of sweaty brown hair that stuck up no matter what his wife did to tame it. He was a hard-working boss who was fair and just. He wouldn't ask his "boys" to do anything that he wouldn't do himself and they respected him for that. He wasn't opposed to having fun on the job as long as the job got done. Flex liked him.

"Women! Can't live with them and can't live without them."

Flex nodded, "If I tried, I think she'd kill me."

"Like that, is she?"

Mike had been the one to offer Flex a job. Flex had been walking past the construction site when he saw a loose cable on one of the JCB's, he'd hurried in to tell someone just as the cable snapped and he had quickly pushed several of the workers out of the way before grabbing hold of the retreating cable and slowing its decent. He was the reason that Mike wasn't down four workers and he had been offered a job on the spot. It was a good job with physical labour that he enjoyed, and the money was good.

"So you coming to the Barbie?"

"The what?"

Mike chuckled, "The Retrofit Construction workers barbeque. Or in other words, Marcie's attempt to force socialising between the workers wives while I try not to incinerate everything in sight."

Flex laughed, "Sounds like fun."

"It's a blast," Mike said rolling his eyes. "But Marcie's the boss."

Flex was about to decline when he heard wolf whistles coming from his fellow builders behind the mess hut… Sorry, staff canteen.

"Just when I think we are outgrowing the stereotype!" Mike sighed. Flex hadn't got a clue what he was talking about but followed the man to the canteen, which was just a wooden hut which served second class meals for the hungry workers.

As he rounded the corner he saw all of his team-mates had stopped working and were staring at the gate.

"Gentlemen, is it too much to ask that ladies pass unscathed from the view of your ugly mugs and the shrill whistles?" Mike asked long-sufferingly.

"But Mike, this one is a twelve!" Danny pleaded.

"A babe in wolf's clothing!" added Grecko.

"One hot momma!" agreed Tom.

"Neanderthals," muttered Mike.

"Check it out yourself!" Danny said gesturing over to the gates. Flex, who was putting his shovel away, was taken aback by the low whistle that left Mike's lips. Mike was the consummate gentleman and tried to instil that into his boys.

Needless to say it hadn't worked.

"What I wouldn't give for a piece of that ass!" crooned Tom.

Flex looked over to where they were watching. She was standing by the gates, her long dark hair flowing over one bare shoulder, her tiny strappy top showing her bare midriff. Her jeans were black and tight and she wore them well with the sandals on her feet. A picture of a sexy woman.

"Great!" Sighed Flex as he stared at Skye. "Excuse me," he said to his team mates.

"Go Flex!" Danny hissed.

Mike, however saw the tension in his shoulders and came to the correct conclusion. "Uh guys…"

Flex ignored their comments as he made his way over to the fence.

Skye shifted nervously as he walked over slowly.

"Before you yell at me, I come bearing cookies!" she said quickly and pulled out a plastic box. "Baked 'em myself."

Flex pushed back the small smile that threatened. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to… apologise," she said slowly, unsurely.

"Apologise," he repeated.

"I'm a heartless bitch who should be hung drawn and court-martialled, okay?"

"It's a start."

Skye smiled grimly, "Tell me what you want me to say."

Flex stared up at the wrought iron gates for a moment. What did he want her to say? He wanted what they had had before all of this started, that friendship where they could tell each other everything and hold back nothing. There was no fear of hurting feelings that they didn't have and the best thing was to let rip with a string of witty rejoinders and have them matched.

Flex sighed this feelings crap bugged him.

"Talk to me about your dream, Skye."

Skye nodded hesitantly. "My dreams hurt, Flex. They're about Steve and us and everyone just hanging around in the Rec Room. I miss it; miss the feel of us all just being a family. And then I feel guilty for missing it because he gave his life so that we could get out."

"He wouldn't want you to feel guilty, Skye."

"I know that," she shrugged. "Logically, I know that. Flex. But it still stings; I mean it's not even been a month. I'm a soldier, I'm used to death but this rattled me."

Flex nodded and leaned against the railings. "I get that, I do. We were taught to deal in death but not to deal with it."

Skye eyed him, "You know this sensitive understanding Flex is unnerving. What happened to the smart-ass flirt?"

Flex chuckled, "He's buried under five children and a girlfriend. He's still there but he had to grow up quick."

"I'm sorry if we are a burden to you, I can get a job," she looked down and Flex caught her chin.

"Hey now, my little spitfire, that is not what I meant. I want you to have the time to grieve and deal with things. It's not that I mind working and taking care of you all. I just have issues with being taken advantage of."

"That stops now!" she said determinedly, some of her old fire returning. "I don't think of you as a cash machine, or a… sugar daddy or whatever you think. I'm sorry that I haven't been there for you, but you always seemed okay."

Flex grinned, "As Max would say, I'm always all right."

Skye laughed and punched his shoulder. "Jack ass!"

This was the Skye that he remembered, the sassy girl who was quick with a rejoinder and quicker with her fists. He broke into a huge grin.

"Now that's the bitch I know and love."

"Bite me, dumb-ass."

Flex grabbed her and pulled her in for a hug, "Knew you had this fixation with my ass!"

"Your one redeeming feature," she laughed as he leaned down and kissed her thoroughly.

"Ahem!"

Flex let her go slightly and turned around to see his boss blushing behind him.

"Mike," Flex licked his lips and let go of a giggling Skye. "Uh this is Skye, my girlfriend. Skye this is my boss Mike Sawyer."

"Ah," Mike held out his hand for Skye to shake. "Ms. Skye, it's a pleasure to meet you at last."

"Just Skye," she smiled warmly. "Came to see Flex I brought cookies."

"Then you are always welcome!" Mike enthused looking longingly at the Tupperware box.

Skye chuckled, "Help yourself, if you can pry some away from greedy-guts here."

"Hey!" Flex said affronted.

"I'm just saying that you need to watch your figure."

"I'd rather watch yours."

"Behave."

"Yes, ma'am."

Mike laughed, "Like a married couple. Anyway Flex you didn't give me your answer, are you coming to the BBQ this weekend."

"The what?"

"Company barbeque," Flex explained. "I would, Mike, but Skye and the kids—"

"Are totally invited," Mike interrupted. "Marcie would never forgive me if our newest recruit didn't show."

"We wouldn't want to impose," Skye added. "There are a lot of us."

Mike frowned, "How many kids do you have?"

"Five."

He gave them a long look, "You are not old enough to have five kids."

"Adopted."

"Fostered." They said at the same time and then looked at each other.

"Uh huh," Mike looked sceptical. "Well bring them all along, the more the merrier."

"All right then," Skye agreed. "I can bring… something."

"Anything edible, cookies are good," Mike hinted and Flex took the box and held it protectively.

"My chocolatey goodness."

Skye tapped his arm, "Flex, remember what we said about sharing?"

----

"I'm going to die," Aiden groaned, his hand held fast to his aching head.

"No, you're going to vomit," Dek said dryly.

"'m not," Aiden mumbled.

Dek carried on as if he hadn't heard him, "That's what happens when you pour poison into your body, transgenic or not, too much poison in your system will cause that system to overload."

"If I pay you will you go away?" Aiden muttered trying to stop the room from spinning. He gingerly sat up on his rickety bed with its faded sheets and creaky boards and wished that he had never even heard of alcohol.

His bleary eyes fixed on the dusty curtains glad that Dek hadn't given in to his latent sadism and opened them to let in the full force of the sun.

"Of course not," Dek grinned. "I wouldn't want to leave my friend alone with such a bad HANGOVER!"

Aiden whimpered and Dek smirked.

"Oops, sorry, was that a bit too loud for you?"

"Sadist."

Something gleamed in Dek's eye and he slowly sat down by Aiden's side.

"Now, now, pal, you know that I would do anything for you."

"Hmm?"

"How about I make breakfast for you, hmm?"

Aiden blinked suspiciously at him.

"I can cook you some nice greasy bacon, dripping with fat. Huge globules of soft dripping lard."

Aiden paled.

"And some fried mushrooms, looking like silky, slimy slugs, glistening in their own pungent juices."

Aiden swallowed, hard his hand coming up to his stomach as it revolted from the pictures Dek was painting.

"Or how about some fried eggs? Runny, slippery, egg whites, half cooked so that the whites drip over the plate and almost raw yolk so that the yellow oozes with unripe globs of pure, calorie laden grease."

"Bastard," Aiden blurred to the bathroom and Dek could hear his retching from the bedroom.

Dek sat back on the bed with his arms folded behind his head a smirk on his face as he listened to Aiden's insults between purging.

"Yeah, yeah," he waved. "And your mother was a test tube."

Aiden came out from around the corner rubbing his mouth. "Asshole."

He sat heavily on the bed next to Dek and groaned, "If I ever touch alcohol again, feel free to kill me."

"I can't be bothered to hide the body," Dek yawned.

"Did we learn anything today?"

"Well, we've pretty much established that you are a pansy assed excuse for a trannie who can't hold his drink."

Aiden wasn't too hung over to slap him, hard.

"I meant how'd it go this morning with the trade?"

Dek allowed himself a grin, "He took the baseball for sixteen grand and told me of a few choice pieces that he wouldn't mind seeing."

Aiden matched his grin, "So we have a market?"

"That we do," Dek nodded. "Our 'Stan' also hinted that he might be willing to act as a go-between for other clients. He mentioned a messenger service in the city that we could use to make deliveries, all without getting our hands dirty."

Aiden poked out his tongue, "Only a vain pretty boy like you would have to worry about getting your hands dirty. But at least you're not moping."

"I happen not to want to get caught by Renfro, thank you oh so very much. Evil bitch won't rest until we are all back in our cage."

Aiden lay down next to him, "What if we do?"

"Get caught?"

"Yeah."

"I have a plan."

"Which is?"

"Run."

Silence.

"Do you have a plan B?"

"Yeah."

"Which is?"

"Run faster."

----

"I could have been wrapped up in bed," muttered Carrot. "I could have been watching TV, I could have been sleeping in the arms of a very naked Tara, but no. what am I doing? Walking through a rat infested sewer looking for a furry dog-man… talking to myself." He glared up at the ceiling. "Someone up there hates me."

The sewer was a nasty place to be at the best of times, but at night while the only light was shadowy moonlight filtering in through grates in the ceiling that shone onto things glistening in the water beneath his feet that he didn't want to closely identify, well, he'd almost rather be back at Manticore.

The whole place stank and the green mould dripping off the walls did little to erase his sense of anger at having to be down here in the first place.

He heard a muffled stumbling up ahead and froze in his tracks. Up ahead, mustered in the shadows was a tall figure, stooping among the pipes and sniffing wildly into the air.

Carrot edged forwards a few steps and knocked his foot against something hidden in the water.

The shadowy figure whirled towards him, "Who, who there?"

The figure stepped into the light and peered down the damp tunnel. Carrot got his first impression of the man… dog, dog-man as the light shone down from a nearby man-hole. He was at least six foot tall with long straggly dark hair and an army jacket. His features were pronouncedly canine but there was something… endearingly puppy like about his expression. Unlike his picture in the paper that Logan had showed him, he didn't look ferocious, merely curious.

Carrot frowned, not expecting this. "Uh, Carrot?"

"Carrots don't talk."

He bit back a laugh, "This one does, my name is Carrot. What's yours?"

"Joshua." The man smiled, showing sharp pointy teeth.

"You _are _a Manticore escapee, right?"

Joshua's eyes widened, "No, no, no, no." he back peddled and Carrot stepped forwards to keep up with him.

"Don't go, I'm not here to hurt you or hunt you or take you back. I'm an escapee too. I was Special Ops."

Joshua paused, "I'm special too, first."

"First what?"

Joshua seemingly searched for the words, "Father made me first, then more like me and more like you."

Carrot's face was a picture, "Are you telling me that you are transgenic mark one?"

"Not Mark, Joshua."

"Yeah, I mean are you the original experiment?"

Joshua smiled and nodded, "First, original."

"Wow," Carrot let out a gust of amazement. "That's oddly kinda cool."

"Huh, huh, cool," Joshua beamed.

"So, Joshua what are you doing down here?" He recalled why he was here in the first place. "Oh yeah, and why have you been terrorising people all over Seattle?"

"Terror?" Joshua shook his head, his dark hair flying all over the place. "No terror, looking."

"For what?"

"Father."

"Uh huh," Carrot considered him. "Father would be…?"

"Sand- man."

There was a brief pause.

"You didn't by any means hit your head on the way outta Manticore, did ya?"

Joshua thought for a second his eyes gazing at the ceiling, "No."

"Just checking. So who is the sand man?"

"Not 'the', not 'the'. Sandman."

Carrot sighed in relief, "Ah, okay a guy called Sandman is your… father?"

"He made me and left me, true enough. He blazed."

"And you're looking for him; sorry to tell ya pal that this Sandman guy will be like looking for a needle in a hays tick… or whatever."

Joshua darted forwards, "No, see Joshua have paper, paper with many Sandman. Father has to be one."

Carrot leaned forward and took the ratty piece of torn, folded paper from Joshua's large hands and undid it. It was a piece torn out of a phone book with the names and addresses of several Sandeman's listed.

"Ah, so you're checking for your father and not trying to eat people? That's good to know."

"I eat dogs."

Carrot blinked, "Oh."

"Little, little dogs in cans."

Carrot chuckled, "Hot dogs."

Joshua shook his head mournfully, "Cold."

Carrot nodded and him, "Okay then big guy, well, how about we check out these last few addresses together then?"

Joshua's face lit up and he grinned happily and motioned for Carrot to lead the way. More sewers.

Oh well, Carrot thought. It was either this or go back to Logan.

-----

Anna hated being here. She hated being surrounded by anomalies and children who cowered in the shadows and almost cried when she snapped at them. She hated having to check in with said anomalies before she could leave the 'security' of the terminal wasteland that she was supposed to call home.

She hated the looks that everyone gave her as she sat by herself lost in her own little world and she hated that she had to attempt to play nice with them.

But most of all she hated the fact that none of her friends were here.

Oh, she had always gotten along fairly okay with Feen and Techie but they were just another pair of transgenics that she knew. They were friends in the way that she and Coco were friends, they didn't have an understanding the way she and B.J. did and they couldn't appreciate her like Cece did.

Feen was fine and scathing in her own brash way and Techie had a good sense of humour once he lost that "I'm-around-a-girl" fright that sprang to his face, even now with dating the terror of Manticore, but they just weren't up to her standards and that made her grouchy.

Admittedly everything made her grouchy, but this more than most. She wanted a decent conversation with someone who didn't expect her to be sweet or nice, or even vaguely sympathetic.

Anna sighed, avoiding the eyes of those around her as she dug into her thin gruel-like soup that tried to pass for food in this dim hell-hole.

She wasn't ever going to be Miss Mary Sunshine and they had better get used to it.

----

Drew stood on the steep incline, her face in the wind as she stared out into the blackness. She was tired of being here without her family. As great as Ed had been to her, she knew that it was time to move on. It was time to get out there and try to find her family.

The ruthless winds caught her long dark hair and tugged at it harshly, letting it whip around her face until it half blocked her vision.

But she didn't care and almost didn't notice she was so intent on that darkness out there, so different from the darkness that she had come from.

Manticore had been a hell to everyone that had lived there and it was strange what a person could get used to if they had little or no choice.

They had all come to accept that that was the way that things were and they had tried to get along as best as possible even as they dreamed of escape and freedom. But now, ejected forcibly into that freedom that they had craved, escape into a world in which they had only scant information and even less understanding on—it was a more terrifying prospect than being thrust back into the hell they had called home.

But they had no choice now. Whoever had set the fires had seen to that and for once in her life Drew had no idea how to feel about that lack of choice.

Would she have chosen to leave Manticore? Possibly. Without her family? Never. Was she happy to be out? Possibly. Did she miss her unit? Hell, yes.

She still wasn't completely healed from her injuries and, knowing how fast transgenics healed, she could only guess at how close to death she had actually come. It was a shock to the system of someone who had believed themselves to be impervious and almost immortal. But now Drew knew how fragile life was and knew that the time that she had she wanted to spend it with Dek, and Max and the rest of them.

Now she just had to break the news to Ed that she was leaving.

---

Nicholas Dresden was a suspicious man by nature and a cynic at heart. He had carefully cultivated the feelings until he had them honed to a fine art of scepticism and patent disbelief that transcended all else.

Right now, what he was staring at on his console brought that feeling to the fore and his perfectly arched eyebrows rose in his usual distrustful manner.

"They're back again," Brandy said needlessly and he just nodded, his eyes on the two figures sitting in the lounge of the biggest casino in Las Vegas. Post-Pulse had, as named, been built after the pulse has hit and many were out of work and looking for jobs.

It was a labour of love. Love of money. And had become the most popular of all casinos in the Nevada desert. Themed as life pre-pulse it was a tower of all things electrical and nostalgic. Patrons could play on the fake 'internet', drive a sports car, dodge the stock-market, buy a McDonalds or sit in Starbucks—all while playing on slot machines. It was life as it used to be and attracted many who longed for that complicated life of laptops and lattes.

It had been the brainchild of multi-trillionaire Lydia Gates-Murdoch and she had appointed Nicholas Dresden as chief of security. It had been a stroke of genius for her and luck for him and it was a position that he took seriously. He hated the idea that anyone could potentially cheat his employer out of her hard earned money.

Which was why he was glaring into the screen right now.

Those two. Seemingly unremarkable albeit striking looking individually. Together they caught your attention with their good looks but once they were at a table? Unmissable.

With her long seemingly soft blonde hair and his dark looks they seemed distinctly opposite but they made an unstoppable team when linked.

Her glitzy dresses caught the eye as she played roulette and her innocent charms made you forget that she was winning far more than was not only possible, but advisable.

His aura of mischief made you laugh so hard you didn't realise that he had won almost every hand at blackjack—again— and had taken your life savings.

But it was once they had commandeered the poker tables that they had caught his attention. No one was that good. It was as if they had memorised all of the cards given to each player and in what order, they knew exactly when to fold and when the other player was bluffing. Between them they had to have amassed at least half a million dollars and it had come to his attention.

The security cameras showed them now, her shiny hair carefully curled on top of her head and secured with deep purple pins that matched her dress and him in a black tuxedo. They looked like a lively rich young couple, which they were.

Right now anyway.

"Please ask Ramirez to escort our guests up here."

Brandy smiled, "Yes Sir."

Down in the gaming room of the Post-Pulse casino Sunny was having a blast. She was up by about ten games of roulette and hoards of wealthy handsome men were flocking around her.

"Excellent play, Ms. Metson." The dealer said.

Sunny flashed him a smile and tossed a five hundred dollar chip at him. "There's a tip for being a sweetheart."

The dealer blushed and thanked her. Normally a dour man he was entranced by the blonde beauty charmed him with her sweetness.

Sunny glanced around keeping her eyes out for Biggs at the black-jack tables again. He was almost addicted to those.

He looked up and caught her eye, giving her a wink as he placed his last card down, the gentlemen at the table huffing in displeasure. Sunny bit back a giggle and turned back to her bet trying to gauge where to place it.

A shadow indicated that she was no longer alone and she looked up into the stern eyes of a security guard.

"Excuse me, Ma'am?"

Sunny inclined her head, "Yes"?

"I've been requested to ask you to come with me."

"Where and by whom?" she raised an eyebrow.

"By the chief of security and just upstairs," he glanced over his shoulder towards Biggs who was making his way over. "You and your boyfriend."

"Sunny?"

The blonde girl stared coolly at the security guard for a brief moment and then nodded to Biggs' unspoken question. Yes, they went with him.

She smiled sweetly, "Lead the way."

----------------------------------------------------------------

Sorry, i'm not feeling too well so i haven't responded to individual reviews this time. Forgive me?

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Thanks to my reviewers- Jade-K

Geminangel

Natacup82

Mely's the name

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	5. Falling into Kansas

**A/N- Thanks to everyone who replied to my sudden bout of insecurity and let me know that they still enjoyed this series. You are the best. Things start to escalate from this point so heads up!**

Cookie to those who pointed out the Gates-Murdoch conspiracy.

BTW- for all those who pointed to Fayth's Coming to Terms as one to read, I feel thatI should hang my head in shame. I will update that!!!!... eventually.

**To GivenAlias- darker for ya?

* * *

**

**Chapter 5- Falling into Kansas.**

The leather restraints were strong and tight against his fragile wrists, biting down into the already raw skin. The amount of struggling that he had already done rubbed his hands until they were red and starting to drip red blood drops onto his tight fists.

"Okay," a sharp voice echoed in his delicate ears. "Punishment is due for weakness."

He tried to answer but the gag as well as the jaw harness held his mouth open stopping him from uttering a sound. Not that he would have had anything intelligent to say anyway, at this point his thought processes were centred on the pain in his eyes from the red laser blasting red hot images onto the back of his retinas.

The pictures were the normal ones used in this form of torture. Pictures of strength; military, physical, emotional—a soldier standing strong in an army, a wrestler with muscles bulging as he pummelled another man, a stiff face at a funeral pyre, a man walking on hot coals—and mixed into the images were words, words that damned him.

A soldier with a gun. **_Strength_**. A hand in the flame. **_Duty_**. Bulging biceps. **_No weakness._** An atomic explosion.**_ Force._** An army marching through a village.**_ Emotionless._** A girl standing in carnage and sneer on her face.**_ Power._**

He twitched as the images came faster and the words span out. The voice came from one side.

"Sentimentality is a weakness that our enemies can exploit. It's a hallmark of a weak mind. Strength is your tool."

A loud bang came near his ear causing him to wince.

"LISTEN TO ME!" screamed the voice, louder now. "This is a lesson that you have to learn. Stability and discipline are the only things that will protect you. You are not meant to be without them.You are a soldier, you must have discipline!"

He could hear a button pressed near his shoulder and a slight tingle in his fingertips was all the warning he had before a jolt of pure pain shot through his nerve endings, causing his breath to catch.

"A soldier must hone his self-control, you must not be weak!"

It was all he could not to scream as the pressure behind his eyes built, the pictures coming faster and faster. The electric pulse swept his body again, leaving him shaking as he tried not to cry.

Suddenly both the pain and the images stopped. One lone picture shone in his eyes; a small girl, clutching something that resembled a grizzly bear but softer, more vulnerable looking. She was crying, her face red and wet with tears, and her large eyes beseeching the camera. She reminded him of one of his Unit.

"Does this make you cry?" hissed the voice."Female wiles are a soldier's enemy. Don't get led around by your hormones; that is weak. Are you weak soldier?"

He tried to shake his head, more to rid himself of the image than to deny the accusation.

The voice grabbed his hair and tugged so that his gaze met deep brown eyes filed with nothing. Blank eyes that didn't care what was happening.

"When in enemy territory any sign of sympathy is weakness. Compassion is a tool they use against you. Sensitivity is NOT permitted. You have no emotions. Strength is your tool. Cultivate that."

The one image stayed as the voltage was turned higher and higher. His hands flailed trying to catch at something, his nails dug into his own palms, blood drawing down his fists in string rivulets until it pooled beneath his tiny palms, his breathing harsh as his nerve endings screamed. Through it all the girl stared at him, unblinkingly as tears raced down her cheeks in tandem with his.

"Strength, soldier. Strength is your tool."

The volts slipped higher as his whole body shook.

"Are you weak?"

He was wracked with pain.

"Are you WEAK?"

"NO SIR!"

B.J. bolted up in bed, his sweat dampened hair sticking to his forehead as his breaths came in ragged sobs.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god."

B.J. brought shaking hands up to his face to push his soaked hair out of his face. He could feel the dampness seep to every spot of his body and didn't need to look down to know that his bare chest was also drenched in little drops.

As the sheet slid onto the floor he tilted his head back and allowed the draughts in the place to blow softly across his fevered forehead.

He hauled in another shuddery sob and cursed himself as a tear slid down his cheek.

He drew his knees up to his chest and slid backwards in the bed until his back rested against the headboard. His shoulders shook with suppressed sobs as he cradled himself tightly. His head on his knees, he began to rock backwards and forwards.

-----

Sunny sat back in her chair, a smirk on her face as she slung an arm over the back of the plush seat.

"And I guess you would be the new bad guy in my life?"

Nicholas Dresden brushed imaginary dust off his suit sleeve and smiled at her.

"You are more beautiful in person than on camera."

"Already missing the old bad guy," she sighed as Biggs hid a grin. He loved this part of her. Sometimes she was so sweet she could send him into a diabetic coma, but sometimes, just sometimes, she could rival Max and Drew in the bitch stakes. It was certainly fun to watch and he had every understanding why Alec and Dek were so smitten when the girls turned on that honeyed poison.

Mr. Dresden was less than amused as he folded his arms over his chest. He had summoned them to the security room intent on letting them know what they had done. To his cynical mind it gave them a chance to sweat over all of the things that he didn't yet know and made them more susceptible to dropping hints of said misdemeanours.

It was a large room with a deep red carpet. The dark wood walls made the room seem all that much more foreboding and secretive. The console behind him was made up of twelve computers each showing a different location in the hotel with adjustable cameras so he could follow anything that took his eye. He could, literally, see every square inch of the casino from this room.

"I am chief of security, my name is Nicholas Dresden. Perhaps I can request your names?"

"Sunny Metson," she held out her delicate hand and Mr. Dresden was enough of a gentleman to kiss her knuckles.

The rakish dark-haired man mischievously held out his hand too and then dropped it with a smirk as Nicholas raised an eyebrow.

"Biggsworth Alexander, call me Biggs."

Sunny leaned sideways and crossed her legs over each other, almost laughing as every eye in the room was directed to her long legs.

Men!

"So Mr. Dresden, besides the terrible décor of this room what is the problem?"

Nicholas forced himself not to stare around the room and answered, "That would be you, my dear."

"How so?"

He liked this young lady. She was direct and seemed to have as cynical a nature as he himself did.

"It has come to my attention that you have been extraordinarily… lucky at the tables."

"Is that a crime?" Biggs asked innocently.

"It is for someone as lucky as you," Nicholas' tone lost some of its joviality. "You seem to have amassed almost half a million."

"Seven hundred thousand ,six hundred and fifty seven dollars twenty two." Sunny raised an eyebrow. "Last count."

"Although I did buy a burger for lunch so take a dollar fifty from that," Biggs added stretching his arm over her chair and smiling benignly up at Nicholas.

"Seven…" Nicholas began faintly and then his face flushed in anger. "You may find, Ms. Metson, that that kind of luck is dangerous indeed."

"Now, now, Mr. Dresden," Sunny offered. "We have a room here in the hotel, we spend money on drinks and we eat here everyday, we buy our clothes in your pre-pulse stores and we play all day on the machines. You are getting your money back, after a fashion, so what is the harm?"

"The harm," Nicholas hissed, "is that I am chief of security and I can't tell exactly how you are cheating—which you must be to win that much."

"No offence," Biggs nodded, "But your observation isn't as precise as you want it."

Nicholas stiffened, "I beg your pardon?"

Biggs gestured to the large screens over on one side which showed the entire casino.

"Top monitor, the guy in blue's left sleeve dips too low indicating something heavy concealed. My guess? He's got hardware. The concierge on the far right with the bangs--"

"Ew," shuddered Sunny.

"—he keeps ducking his head and is speaking into a receiver placing bets."

"Third monitor lady in orange by black jack with, oh so, bad hair has a mirror in it showing the cards of the player behind her to the man opposite him—her partner," Sunny added. "And the guy on the left screen is tapping his foot in rhythm to the roulette wheel's movements; he has a receiver in his shoe."

Nicholas managed to keep his countenance as he watched those they mentioned on the screen.

"Anything else?"

"Woman in low cut red dress has cards up her sleeves and the older man by the poker is a letch,"

"What?"

Sunny smiled sweetly, "Oh, he tried to feel me up earlier."

"Me too," Biggs shrugged.

Nicholas watched them as he sat behind his impressive desk. There was no way that they had taken their eyes away from him that long to spot those actions. He was sure of that much and yet they had seen cues and signs that he would have missed out on. He was silent for a long moment before speaking slowly, "You don't need or want the money. You like the thrill."

"The dresses are pretty too," Sunny offered, her usual smile lighting her face.

Nicholas took a deep breath and took the first spontaneous action he had taken in years. "Instead of dealing with you as potential cheats and tossing you over to Vegas security or even the police," he shuddered. "Perhaps you would consider working for me?"

"As…"

"As security staff," Nicholas nodded. "You have good eyes, a fresh outlook and can blend in enough to be my eyes on the ground."

He stood up and walked around the room, his hands behind his back as his suit jacket brushed Sunny's shoulder. "I am sure that you are aware of the decrease on loyal employees after the pulse, everyone and his brother, is after a piece of the pie. It's unusual to meet someone who cares about the cooking of said pie rather than its content, are you with me?"

"Lost you around pies, I'm hungry," Biggs quipped but Sunny shot him a disapproving look.

"We are with you, Mr. Dresden. Ignore my partner he thinks maturity is a type of cheese."

"Hey!"

Nicholas hid a grin, "The wages can be set and of course there are additional bonuses. You would have to maintain a lower profile, of course."

"Naturally. Standard under any operation."

Something flickered in Nicholas' eyes, "Ah, you are ex-military?"

"Decidedly," Sunny said softly, with a hint of danger in her tone.

Nicholas nodded his acquiescence to her hidden remark to butt out.

"It seems that you will be able to take care of yourself then? Perhaps we should continue this in my office. It is far more comfortable."

"Good idea," Sunny nodded and uncrossed her long legs walking to the door with Biggs behind her. "While we are at that, you can put a call through to our hotel room and tell your security men to stop searching it for hidden devices."

Nicholas let the corner of his mouth smirk, "Something tells me that it is a mistake to underestimate you, Ms. Metson. I must apologise."

"Oh don't worry," Sunny grinned handing him back the wallet he didn't realise she had stolen, "Everyone underestimates blondes."

----

Jace watched as Billy… no, B.J., shuffled papers on his desk and it was only her transgenic sight that allowed her to see the fine tremors in his hands. He had been working for her for two weeks now and she was becoming— accustomed— to the strange man, he exasperated her as much as Ash or riled her as much as Krit did. He usually walked in with a smile and cup of coffee for them both. Then he'd sit at his desk and start the work that she assigned for him, normally whistling some obscenely cheerful tune.

Today there was a distinct absence of cheery tune and smart ass remarks and it was unsettling.

"B.J?" she asked in her usual authoritarian manner.

"Uh huh," he grunted, not even bothering to look up.

"Could you please print out the raw recruits file for the 23rd platoon?"

"Mmm."

She took that to be affirmative, "And then I'd like you to set out the monthly rota for the base staff."

"Hmm."

Jace frowned, "Then I need you to type up the rhinoceros and fax it to your cat."

"Sure."

Jace folded her arms, "Hello? B.J.?"

B.J. blinked and looked up at her, "Ma'am?"

"Please repeat what I just said."

B.J. stared up at his irate boss, her dark eyes flashing and thanked heaven for his transgenic memory which categorised things that he wasn't even aware of. "I'm to print out raw recruit list for the 23rds, set the rota for the base staff and," _wait… what???_

He paused, his mind whirling with what his brain said he had heard, "Uh… something about… I guess you… uh… I don't **_have_** a cat."

Jace's lips twitched lightly, "Right. Cancel that one then."

B.J. let out a small self-deprecating laugh, "Right."

Jace straightened her shoulders, "What is it?"

B.J. eyed her, "I thought you didn't do the touchy-feely thing?"

She sighed. Well, she deserved that, she supposed, after all she presented a cool austere façade to the world and refused to deign to laugh at any of his jokes or comments. She did not engage in small talk or inconsequentialities and found his ramblings to be… an amusing diversion. She'd even remembered some of them to recount to Zack the next time that she saw him. B.J was a funny guy; she thought he'd get along with Ben maybe.

"I have my moments. What is the problem?"

"Can't sleep," he muttered and pushed his hair away from his eyes, not looking at her.

"My brother once said that if you lay on the edge of the bed you'll soon drop off," she said uncomfortably.

B.J. stared at her incredulously for a wild moment and then threw back his head and laughed. His shoulders shook as he howled in laughter.

Jace stiffened, "It wasn't that amusing."

"Darlin'," he said wiping tears from his eyes, "That was one of the worst jokes I have ever heard in my life. But you telling it makes it better. Thank you."

Jace shrugged one shoulder as he giggled again, "You are a sad, strange little man and you have my pity."

She got up to answer the telephone, leaving the man to chuckling to himself.

"Thank you for calling the USMA, military recruitment section, this is Jacenette Knightsbridge speaking."

"I'll never get over how stuck up you sound saying that, baby sister."

"Zack," she was able to keep all delight out of her tone only due to years of practise at trying to make him see her. To appreciate the soldier she was and the model follower she had turned out to be.

"Yeah, it's me, Jacey- girl."

She rolled her eyes and perched on the edge of the table, "You know I despise that ridiculous nickname."

"Yeah, listen, are you still up to speed on all the recent army recruits?"

"Uh huh," she hedged aware that B.J. was still in the room although it was doubtful that he would be able to hear from where he was sitting.

"Anything that I should be aware of?"

Jace sat down at her desk, and flipped open a small clipboard that she kept strictly for Zack's calls. She knew that he liked the information that she was able to pass on.

"Twenty recruits headed to Fort Ashworth. Six platoons are on manoeuvres in the South Pacific and there is an uprising in Africa that has taken more than two sections by surprise."

"Hmm," Zack's voice was distant. "Any more of those barcoded murders?"

Jace bit her lip and thought back to last year when she had uncovered a sudden rash of killings where the murderer had tattooed a barcode on the neck of the victim. She had never been able to find what the designation of those codes was and the murders had petered out after a while.

"Nothing recently, although I was told that a "severe military man" was interested in the killings."

"Lydecker," Zack breathed. "Do we think that it was one of us?"

"Or it could have nothing to do with trans—" she glanced over at a very still B.J. "transcendental meditation and have been coincidence."

"Say what?" Zack's tone was bemused and then sharpened. "Is there someone there with you?"

"Of course," she nodded even though he couldn't see her. "I have the file still."

"I'm coming over to collect it," Zack said decisively. "It'll take a week for me to get to the west coast."

"You so far away?" she asked, slightly hurt.

"I needed to check on Ben… He's gone off again."

"Where?"

"If I knew he wouldn't be gone."

Jace bristled at his tone, "Gee Zack, Prozac is everyone's friend."

"I'll take that under advisement, Zack out."

Before she could say goodbye he had put the phone down.

She glared at the plastic and fought the juvenile urge to poke her tongue out at the instrument. Why was it that a five minute conversation with Zack was enough to make her forget why she held him in such high esteem? And why was she the only one that he treated like that?

She stood up, intent on rechecking her information for when her big brother came to pick up the information.

She wasn't aware of B.J.'s eyes watching her intently as she left the room.

----

Carrot dropped his head at the sound of the voice calling him back.

"Oh Carrot?"

He sagged and peeked over his shoulder at Logan Cale who wheeled himself to the door.

"Yeah, what?"

Logan grinned, "Hello to you, I didn't hear you come in."

"Sorry, **_Mom_**."

Logan shuddered for a second. Carrot suddenly reminded him of Seth. Seth was the first transgenic that he had ever come across; a surly James Dean-esque young man who hated him at first… and second sight. It had been the same sort of arrangement that he shared with Carrot… and it had gotten the young transgenic killed. Something that he wasn't eager to share with Carrot.

"Logan?"

He was shaken out of his musings by the redhead and he smiled weakly, regaining some of his smugness.

"Yes, I wanted to speak to you about something that I pulled off the radio. The police radio," he clarified.

"Well I didn't think you wanted to discuss the difference between Britney and Christina's styles."

Logan frowned, "Who?"

Carrot waved, "Not important. So what did the good ol' police radio have to say?"

"Well it was about mass killings, so I went to my contact on the police force and according my source its some kind of mysterious pathogen. A toxin that killed 22 Chinese people."

"So?" Carrot shrugged, his leather clad shoulders hunching.

"Rumors are that a badly deformed transgenic is hiding out in China-Town bleeding through its skin."

"Sounds like an anomaly," Carrot said his tone growing cooler.

"If he is the killer—"

"Wait," Carrot gave a nasty glare. "So we've gone from mysterious toxin to transgenic killer? Who made that leap?"

Logan sighed, "Manticore wasn't exactly a peace keeping facility."

"Just because we are trained to kill doesn't mean that we do. This guy probably has a hard enough time blending than to be called a murderer."

Logan wheeled back slightly from the irate man.

"But this toxin—"

"Could be anywhere and you say it's only attacking Chinese? Manticore was pretty much an equal opportunity hellhole. All right, Logan?"

Logan held up his hands in an attempt to pacify the irate young man. "I'm stating it as possibility is all."

"I don't care." It took a lot to get mild-mannered Carrot angry but Logan had done it with his presumptuousness. "I will have no part in your investigation."

Logan glared as Carrot stood up and stalked over to the door. He wrenched it open so fast the painting on one side of the room shook in its frame.

"Where are you going?"

"Home. I'm going to go back to my apartment and spend some time with my mate."

"But I need you to go to China town—"

"Go yourself, I'm sure they have disabled access." The door slammed behind him and this time the painting hit the floor.

----

The main problem with their business was that it took them into the heart of the places where the lowest of low life forms existed.

Aiden shucked his coat higher on his shoulders and glared at the rain that had the temerity to drizzle down his nape.

Stupid bloody weather. Stupid bloody coats with their too large necks. Stupid bloody Chinese Ming crappy 18th whatever dynasty vase and stupid bloody Dek with his Pix-esque desire to bugger things up.

Why the stupid moron couldn't have found a better buyer to hand the vase over to, he had no bloody idea, or at least somewhere better to hand it over than this pseudo clandestine bridge that looked the epitome of every black and white detective drama or sappy romance setting he had ever seen on that broken down television set in his room.

Dek was at the other end of the stone bridge in a standard flanking procedure, making sure that they were foxed or boxed in. it was cold, it was dark and it was boring.

In short, Aiden was bored and would rather be anywhere else than here right now.

"Dek," he hissed into the short microphone hidden in his jacket lapel. "Where the hell is this guy?"

"Would you relax?" Dek sounded annoyingly like Alec when he said that. "He'll be here. The Vase is worth a few hundred grand easy. You can afford to wait for that much cash. Unless my sweetheart is too cold?"

The remark Aiden gave him was short and sweet. Dek laughed down the receiver.

"Love you too, sweets… wait up, movement. Third quadrant."

Aiden rolled his eyes, "This better be our guy or I'm going home."

"Wuss," Dek said before the crackle showed Aiden that he had gone.

"Pansy," he mocked as he stomped his feet.

A dark figure draped in an overcoat stumbled into the dark recesses of the bridge.

"Mr. Totty?"

Aiden bit his lip and rolled his eyes at Dek's appointed last name for him. Sometimes he wondered where that boy got his sense of humour from. He was far too twisted to be a transgenic.

"Yeah, Mr. Travers?"

"And friends."

Aiden spun around to see a fairly short dark-haired man walking up casually behind him with a long black trench coat.

"Can I help you?" he asked cautiously knowing that something had gone wrong.

"Yes," the man said tucking his hands deeply into his pockets. "I'm looking for a test subject and you'll do nicely."

"Sorry," Aiden said. "I don't test well."

The man smirked unbecomingly.

"Oh I'm sure you'll pass this one with flying colours."

Aiden wrapped his arms across his chest and took a fortifying breath. "I kinda don't wanna do business anymore. I'm sure ya'll understand."

"Oh, you're not going anywhere."

As Aiden took two steps, five men walked out of the shadows, effectively blocking him off.

"A ha," Aiden nodded sagely. "Right."

"I do hope that you'll come quietly," the man said snidely. "Not that it matters much. One way or another."

"Dek?" he hissed into his silent microphone. "Help here?"

"Do I get introductions before I kick your ass?" he quipped.

The man stood straighter. "My name is Ames White, remember it."

"Amy White—got it."

White glared at the deliberate mistake which cheered Aiden up.

"You transgenics all think you are so damn funny."

Oh. Dear. Hell. Aiden thought as he realised that this man knew who he was… what he was. That was new and it meant that it was definitely time to get out of there.

"In my defence, my roommate has a truly appalling sense of humour. Sometimes mine is lightly inappropriate to compensate."

"Enough!" White snapped. "Get him."

One of the men on his left with a scar-shaped tattoo on his beefy forearm headed straight for him. The one on his right with a freckled face edged closer as well.

Aiden quickly brought his arms up in a defensive posture. His fists clenched and he watched the two men – Freckles and Beefy—as they circled him, their hands moving in a way that made it clear that they knew martial arts, or had watched too many Jackie Chan movies.

As Freckles moved closer Aiden spun out his fist catching him a blow to the side of the face. Aiden's hand stung but his lips curved at that beauty punch. It should have been enough to knock him out or at least knock him over. It should have told them that Aiden was not some lame pushover. It should have made the others back off slightly and allowed him to leave. It should _not_ have done nothing more than make Freckles head turn lightly. Freckles grinned sardonically and Aiden took a step back.

Aiden dodged the blow that Freckles sent his way and ducked, his fist coming up in a swift move designed to knock the air out of his lungs. Freckles staggered backwards but his breath was steady, much to Aiden's dismay and he recovered too fast, coming back at Aiden with fists flying. Beefy snuck up behind him and grabbed his hair, yanking his head back in a move that Dek would have called sissy. But with Beefy's knee in his back it was an effective way of holding the victim until Freckles was close enough to pull a syringe out of his pocket.

At the sight of the shiny needle Aiden stopped messing about. Whatever was in that syringe was intended to incapacitate a transgenic. Aiden sagged against Beefy and then, when his hold loosened, he jolted upright, knocking the hands away and levered sideways until he could snap his foot up into Freckles chest. The syringe dropped from his hand and smashed against the cobbled floor.

Aiden grinned, his breathing hardly laboured. White snapped at that moment.

"What are you waiting for?"

In his haste Aiden had forgotten the other three… four men that surrounded him.

"Uh, Dek?" he sang.

He stared at the five men surrounding him and then quickly at White who stood to one side smirking.

"Question? What the hell did I do to you?"

"You exist."

"Ah, the old existential argument," Aiden sighed. "Bring it on."

Before any of the men could make a move one staggered and slumped to his face, his neck bent at an odd angle. They all looked up to the man standing behind him.

"Uh… oops?" Dek offered.

White's eyes boggled, "Two scum."

Dek frowned, "Is that grammatical? Two scum? Two _scums_?"

Aiden stared incredulously, they were in the middle of a fight and he was debating grammar? "_Hello?_"

"Oh, right," Dek spun out and kicked the man closest to him in the head. His foot impacted with a crack and a spurt of blood spewed from the man's mouth.

Dek winced at the globule of spit that laded on his jacket and in that split second a second man with a bald head managed to kick his feet out from under him. With a yelp Dek hit the ground, his body jarring upon impact.

Dek rolled just as Baldy tried to stomp on his head. He jumped to his feet and swung out at the one with a split lip.

Aiden punched Freckles in the face and back-kicked Beefy as fast as he could. Both men stumbled back but were attacking again before he could regroup.

Aiden found himself with a face full of fist and a boot in his back.

"Dek, they're Xs!"

Split lip slammed his fist into Dek's face and gouged a chuck out of his arm before Dek was able to deflect the man away from him.

Dek swung his feet out and tripped Split lip, throwing him into Baldy. He leaned over and froze.

"No barcodes!"

"Then what the hell are you guys?"

"Better!" White said appearing just as Beefy got to his feet.

Aiden's fist was stopped as White expertly blocked the move.

"Sonofabitch!" Aiden spun at Dek's cry and he saw Dek leaning over with his hand on his side, blood spurting from his fingers.

"Dek?"

Dek waved him back as he circled Baldy, the latter grinning in triumph, silver gleaming in his hand.

"That's cheating."

"So?" it was the first word that any of the fighters had said and his low grunting tone matched his personality to a T.

He slashed at Dek, who darted back, hissing at the pain in his side before snapping his elbow back sharply to slam into Split lip's face.

Aiden circled White quickly looking for any hint of an opening even as the two men stood at his back.

Dek was having trouble with his two fighters. He had managed to knock Split lip away and Baldy was on his back in front of him but the knife wound in his side was stinging like crazy. He heard Aiden cry out and turned around.

Baldy reared back and slammed his legs into the back of Dek's head, knocking him on his ass. Baldy flipped himself up and towered over Dek, he aimed a foot at his mid-section and brought back his leg.

"Not joking now, are we, scum?" he gloated.

Dek caught the foot in mid air and twisted; he heard the quick snap of bone and gave an exquisite smile of satisfaction. As Baldy fell backwards, Dek stood.

"Always," he reached down and snapped his neck with an audible crack. He snatched the knife that had fallen on the ground and swung, bringing it quickly into Split lip. He brought it up, under his rib cage and twisted, thick heavy blood pouring over Dek's hand, making his grip on the knife slippery.

"Kill them!" screamed White as he saw Dek's two enemies at his feet.

"Gee, what were you trying to do before?" Dek gasped, his hand at his side.

Aiden flipped over White's head to land side by side with his best friend.

"Dek?" he said quietly.

"Shit," he summed up succinctly.

"Plan B?"

Dek nodded and before he could say another word Aiden grabbed him and threw him as high as his transgenic strength would allow. Dek grabbed onto the underside of the bridge and swung himself like a Gargoyle up and onto the stone construction.

He could hear Aiden's familiar steps behind him and the roar of that White guy as they tried to follow.

He leaned over the edge of the bridge and wrenched a heavy stone free from its masonry. Like a mountain man he hurled the boulder down onto the man who tried to reach up after Aiden.

The stone hit him and he fell on top of White.

Aiden landed by Dek's side and they raced to the opposite side of the bridge. Dek grabbed Aiden's arm, and jumped. They free fell for a second until they landed on top of a passing truck.

Aiden watched as White stared after them as they disappeared around the corner. He panted for his breath for a few loud minutes and then gently rolled off the top of the truck into the undergrowth at the side of the road. He rolled slightly, letting the over grown grass cushion his fall then fell to a stop.

It was several moments before he heard Dek by his side. He got to his feet and stared shakily back down the road making sure White and his two remaining goons weren't following them.

"What was that?" Aiden panted.

Dek clutched his aching chest. "Why the hell are you asking me?"

"Because you are Special Ops."

Dek looked at him incredulously, "So ARE YOU!"

Aiden blinked, "Oh shit!"

------------------------------------

* * *

Wow, talk about overwhelmed by the response to my little plea. Thank you so much all of you for cheering me up so much. You guys rock!

---

* * *

Geminangel- I'm glad that you are still liking this, More Dek and Aiden humor for you here to keep you cracking up.

Sigma1- Drew has her own story to come in, which is good because I've missed her. Glad I could spark your week back for you.

Stormvind- Sunny and Biggs kicking ass—oh yeah. Skye doesn't have Shark DNA—she's just a grouchy wench. Both Emma and Anna will be coming up shortly- watch for them.

Crazy-Vampire Slayer- Pix and Chance were mostly in MAL but they will have bigger parts in the future I promise. Thanks for the rec's- I'll try them.

Em- thank you angel, that was what I needed to hear at that point. Keep reading!

SGOU- As long as you keep on saying it then I have no problems with hearing it. Of course I plan to make you very happy soon. Plan A and B are ploys that I employ too! Everyone thinks BJ and Anna will end up together its interesting. (When have I _ever_ given you what you expect?)

Ronda TIW- More Pix and Chance to come, I promise and more updates as well!

Lynn-50670- Cheers pet.

BlueJean452- I adore Hot sweet heat- its been a while since I read it though. Both very valid points. Enjoy!

Lozz422- The Greeks are fast becoming favourites- aren't they so damn cute!

GivenAlias- Cutting edge science with humor. I haven't been depressed in months so the story is lighter grin . Do you prefer the darker undertone? I have flashback's a plenty on hold if you do.

SnortableSniffy- I wouldn't keep you in suspense that long…would I?

Ganko- sorry angel, I wrote people who had reviewed sorry if I missed you. Hugs back. Yeah there has been a shortage but I must admit to not checking it out as often anymore. I really must do!

Nevanroy- I hoped that would be the case. To be honest I didn't expect them to be the focus of the story but they have suddenly appeared that way. I appreciate you reviewing and its courtesy to tell you so. Thank you so much.

Feenian- LOL- the show not _that_ good but the fanfic is. You know that's a good point. Thank you! Keep reviewing and I won't get bored.

Natacup82- I'll have to check that one out- thanks for that. What story are you writing? I'll read that.

Greentrees- I love bavite so I'll look that up. Thank you.

Jade- Flex and Skye are doing better now. Thanks for the words of praise; they were really welcome at this point. When I feel down I'll reread this review- thank you.

Tiggi- LOL- thank you sweets, I'll have to read those grin . I overheard a conversation is next on my list- honest.

Elfie- I think I was going for an amalgamation of s1 and 2. I like the humor of s2 but the darkness of s1. There was more fear I think before the breakout. Maybe the whole ambience of Freak Nation without the crappy plot. Yeah there is always need for certain jobs and construction is always going to be one- so the money would be good. Josh is a sweetheart and he plays off Carrot well. Oh yeah Ana and Nyx- sisters in arms!! Scary thought. Yup I wondered who would pick up on the Gates- Murdoch thing. Cookie for you for getting that!

Moonlite Star- You read my mind. Watch the Greeks at school soon. Flatterer! Cheers pet, needed that.

Kim- she has her wake up call and is doing well on that.

Crimsonshadoe- I couldn't leave you waiting too long, my updates are getting further apart! Sorry. Its good that Flex can stand up and not always have to be the irresponsible one. don't ya love him! Oh Logan has NO chance with Max and I think Tara might gut him way way before then.

Badangel- Hi sweetheart, I will update faster promise!

Arwen-amy- There will be a lot about Flex/skye and the Greeks as they are so much fun to do.

Senorita-DLH- hi there again, glad that you are still enjoying when you get the chance.

ALSO BIG THANKS TO-

**Care Bear**

**Elfie**

**Chaosti**

**Lotamoxie**

**Wendy**

For their emails- love you.


	6. What, actually, killed the cat

**A/N- Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter,I am glad that you all liked it so much. I love hearing what you all think and who you want to see the most so keep those reviews coming in!**

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**Chapter 6. What, actually, killed the cat.**

Skye stared down at the Greeks who stood eagerly in front of her in a line. It was odd to see the young faces looking at her with so much emotion. While she had never taken the training courses with the younger Xs, like Max and Alec; occasionally Unit 8 trained with them to sharpen their defences. But back at Manticore the emotion would have been missing. Oh, Nyx would fit in but the smile on Icarus's face would have been enough for a reprimand. The cocky grin on Isacar's face would have landed him in solitary and Zeph's pure delight would have earned him a one way ticket to Psy-Ops.

She shuddered at the thought.

"Okay, so we have been invited out this weekend by Flex's work superior… boss."

The five children shared uneasy looks.

"I know it's a little odd for us but I think that we need to do this to try to fit into the human world."

"Like shopping?" Icarus asked dubiously and Skye half-cringed as she thought about their first shopping trip.

It hadn't been a total disaster but the effects of Zephyr on a sugar high would remain with her forever. As would the image of Icarus trying on a bright pink dress and green heels. Oh, and Nyx pointing out that the cashier had short-changed her was a memory worth keeping.

She winced, "Right."

Zephyr shrugged, "I don't get why this is so important."

"Me either," Nyx added. "Unnecessary exposure to the human world would render our cover somewhat tenuous."

"Or it would reinforce it," Icarus pointed out. "To have humans back us as the same would add credibility to our proposition. In case of further inquiries the word of authority figures would only help strengthen our case."

"Okay, first up, you need to stop talking like you swallowed a text book!" Flex said quickly. "Cari, you're 13, human teens don't speak like that."

Icarus blushed as much from the nickname as the reminder.

"Right."

"Nyxie, you get more leeway because you are 16— but not much."

"Understood," Nyx nodded. "I will endeavour to… dumb down."

"Me too!" Zeph said cheekily. "Even though I would like to discuss the political ramifications of Dante's inferno, in Italian, with your boss."

Flex laughed at the image of six year old Zeph walking up to his boss and starting that conversation, "I think that'd kill Mike!"

"We would like to avoid that."

Icarus rolled her eyes, "He was kidding, Nyxie."

The taller girl turned icy eyes to Icarus, "Nyx. One syllable. Easy to pronounce. If you insist on a nickname then call me 099."

"Hey!" Flex said gently. "No need to get snappy."

Nyx regarded him and inclined her head lightly.

Skye sighed. There was a world of trouble brewing between Nyx and Icarus. Despite the girl's sunny persona and sweetness Icarus had the ability to set Nyx's hackles up faster than a cat in heat. Icarus reminded her, in equal parts, of Sunny and Cece; sweetness and light mixed with thoughtlessness and an innate ability to pick on the one thing that pissed you off. It didn't bode well that Nyx had no discernable sense of humour.

"Sorry," Icarus batted her lashes.

"Knock it off Icarus!" Skye said dryly. "The blonde routine isn't fooling anyone."

"Well at least no one will doubt that we are a family," Isacar added. "Add a little bloodshed and it'll be like tea time with the Walton's."

"The who?" Zeph wrinkled his nose.

Flex pulled on Skye's arm, "Hey, angel, are you sure that this is a good idea?"

Skye smiled, "All we have to do is keep Nyx from killing Icarus, Isacar annoying everyone to distraction and Zeph letting everyone know that he can speak five languages. Add to that hiding our barcodes, our super abilities and the fact that we are not human and have no idea of any human culture and we should be fine."

Flex thought for a second. "We're screwed, aren't we?"

"Well, yeah!"

----

"Son of a two-faced, bitch-dog, hell-whore!"

Aiden grinned at Dek's curse, "Creative. Very creative."

Dek glared at him, "Ow."

Aiden just leaned over Dek's bare chest and wrung out the blood-soaked cloth. "You know for an X5 you are a baby."

"Listen, you sorry excuse for a med tech, stab wounds hurt. I am in pain."

"You _are_ a pain," Aiden corrected.

"Bite me!"

"And risk infection, I think not."

Dek groaned as Aiden picked up the tweezers next to the bed and aimed them at his side.

"What now, Dr. Mengler?"

"Glass shard, did you by any chance fall into glass at some point?"

"Mmf tru' in bu'es."

"What?" Aiden hid a grin as he examined his friends wound. "Sorry I don't speak 'Muffled Dek'. It's hard enough understanding you at the best of times."

"I said I rolled off the truck into a broken windshield in the bushes. Some car wreck. Not all of us had a soft ego to land on."

Aiden pointed at the seeping gash in his side, "Insulting me when I have sharp pointy objects—clever plan?"

"I'll play nice," Dek conceded.

"Oh good," Aiden added, "I won't know what to think."

"Kidding aside, what the hell were they?" Dek hissed as Aiden touched his side. "They weren't transgenics, that's for damn sure. We may be hard asses but we feel pain. I snapped that guys jaw and nada, not even a wince."

"That White guy gave me the uber creeps." Aiden shuddered. "There was something about him that…" he trailed off.

"He was familiar," Dek injected. "Not totally but there something about him… some kind of… I don't know."

"No, I get ya. Like I knew him or his family."

"You know what this means?" Dek asked cheerfully.

"We're cracking up?"

"Oh, yeah!"

---

It wasn't claustrophobia that finally drove Anna from Terminal City. It wasn't the endless grime of the place and nor was it the accusing looks from both Xs and anomalies as she refused to set herself up as leader, despite being the only member of Special Ops in the place. No, what finally made her walk out of that gate to "get some air" was the incredible feeling of inertia. The disinterest and general lethargy of the place that threatened to pull her down into a deep depression.

And Anna was depressed enough as it was.

She knew that the others—Feen and Techie in particular—wanted her to step up and show them what she had learned in advance Special Ops classes about sieges, shanty towns and security. But to be brutally honest – which was something Anna delighted in—she just didn't care enough to make Terminal dump-heap inhabitable. It wasn't like she planned on staying for any length of time anyway. No, as soon as she found B.J. she was out and away… presuming, of course, that he wanted anything to do with her. They had parted better than she hoped although that wasn't saying much; at least he forgave her for being… herself.

She threw off the memory of standing in the middle of the corridor and watching him walk away to find Aiden and Dek, his voice drifting eerily to her ears as he simply said "yes" to her unspoken question of absolution.

Anna shoved her hands deep into her pockets, kicking out at the cans at her feet. She had acquired the clothes through theft a few days out of Manticore and they were getting a little ragged. Not that she cared.

That pretty much summed up everything about her at that moment. She just didn't care. She would bet that none of the others missed her, even if they thought about her and that also suited her just fine.

She glared at a particularly broken can as it made contact with her foot, soaring over the fence of that…

Anna blinked. In her haze she had walked into a construction site. Or as she would say, a wreckage. Turning around she peered at the sign on the gate proclaiming that this was the property of RCF development.

Anna glanced around, "Not much in the way of development," she said aloud.

The place looked like it hadn't been used in decades, maybe even longer. As she turned to go she saw something in the dirt that made her pause.

Footprints.

Obviously scuffed footprints to make it appear that no one had been here.

The only people that she knew would deliberately cover their tracks were transgenics; after all, if they had found a great hideout here it stands to reason that they wouldn't want anyone to know that there was a hideout or someone living here. She heard a sound at the edge of her range and froze, knowing that whoever lived here was home.

Anna closed her eyes and let her other senses guide her as she tried to see if she knew that person. It was a gift that she hadn't let on that she had. After all Tara was supposed to be the medical one, Emma was the empathic one and she was the bitch.

Second only to Drew—obviously— but then again she wasn't psychotic.

But even at the periphery of her senses she couldn't tell who the person was.

Anna crept forwards into the broken down building, gently bypassing the rotten beams that criss-crossed over the damp, mouldy flooring. She edged over the stone laid on the floor in broken piles and she grimaced at the rat droppings that layered the ground. She paused at the far doorway and looked down into the blackness, surprised to see that the disrepair stopped there. It was like someone had deliberately portrayed the air of the building being a shambles to misdirect someone who came in here looking either for shelter or for mischief.

Anna looked down at the strong, steady wooden supports that framed the stairway down to the bottom of what looked like a dirt pit.

She stepped gingerly on the first step and grimaced as it creaked loudly in the stillness.

Holding her breath she stepped down again and again listening in the stillness for a voice or a noise that would alert her as to who it was that held both the building and, now, her interest.

She had almost made it down to the dirt floor when she spied something large and heavy over in one corner. She let her natural curiosity overshadow her innate paranoia and walked over.

It was a large, almost museum-like, exhibit of a large stone instilled with fossils.

No, wait, they weren't fossils but skeletons, half buried in the concrete. They were very small skeletons, possibly of children.

She looked around and bit her lip.

Maybe they had uncovered theses skeletons, possible murder victims, and demolition had been postponed until they could uncover who or what had happened.

It was a logical explanation. One that was sound and likely and yet. And yet… there was something not quite right; something that grabbed Anna in the deepest depths of herself and told her in no uncertain terms that this place was not safe.

_Get out!_ screamed her inner alarm and, having a healthy respect for her internal alarm system, she turned to do just that.

But standing in front of her was a short dark haired man. She hadn't heard him come up behind her and she hadn't seen him come in.

"Hi?" she said quickly, not wanting to stay any longer than she had to and not wanting to do anything to provoke this stranger. "Didn't realise the place was taken, I'll scat."

The man smiled icily, his blank face replaced by a nasty expression of triumph.

"I think not," he said smugly. "And here I went out looking for one of you freaks and you dropped into my lap."

Anna backed away slowly, "Uh, I think you have me mistaken for someone else."

"Do I?" he asked coolly.

"Uh, huh, and I'll be going now."

It was stupid, she knew that. Dumb and suicidal and would have earned her an instant reprimand. But having had weeks out of training had made her forget fundamental rules.

Like: no matter how confident you are that they are inferior to you, no matter how strong you are and how capable you may be; never, _**ever**, _turn your back on an unknown enemy.

She felt a thump and her head spun as she slumped to the floor. Anna cursed herself as she fell into blackness.

------

B.J. watched as Jace got up and walked into the office out back. There had been something about that whispered conversation yesterday that pushed him out of his funk. No matter the screams in his dreams and the pains in his head, what B.J. had always loved was a good puzzle.

And this was. Exactly who was the mystery man that caused her voice to light up? Why was she passing on information about recruits and military personnel to someone that she was so enthralled with? Someone that she was happy to hand classified files over to?

He knew that it couldn't have been a superior because she told them to take Prozac. He grinned at the thought but his smile vanished with the last thought. Zack.

She had called whoever it was Zack and that rang bells. Big stinking church bells.

But the hunchback wasn't home; or rather, he had no idea why it was so familiar.

Zack. It was sitting on the tip of his brain and had been since she had said it.

He had wanted to discus it with Zan last night but he had been up all night with Emma and the poor guy was looking more and more ragged as she didn't appear to be coming around, it seemed that there was nothing they could do to stop her from sneaking into madness.

The thing was that they didn't know **_why._**

She had been out on missions before and nothing like this happened. She had been around transgenics who—social issues aside—weren't exactly the most well adjusted and calm of people and, aside from her moaning and sentimentality, she had been fine.

Why was being here affecting her so much?

He and Zan had bandied around theories last night. Maybe human psyche's affected her differently. Maybe it was being away from her 'family', maybe Manticore had been slipping her drugs to combat this.

Or maybe, B.J. had snapped finally, it was Mars in the frigging house of Venus.

What the hell did it matter what caused it? All it seemed was that there was no way for it to be reversed and poor Emma was getting weaker and weaker, her screaming a thing of habit.

It was driving him to distraction and more than once he wondered if his nightmares were a sort of reverse empathy, projected by a distraught Emma as she battled her own inner demons.

He would have asked Zan if he, too, was inundated with dreams of a freakish and hellish nature, but it was kind of hard to slip that in over breakfast.

"Hey, Zan, I dreamt I was being tortured last night, do you have hot poker- like fantasies and the tendencies to pull out someone's eyes, too? Oh, please pass the toast."

He choked back a hysterical laugh at his psychotic thoughts.

Oh hell, he was getting too much like Drew!

B.J. shook himself and started tapping away at the keyboard again, hoping to take his mind away from the fact that he was losing his mind.

He would keep the fact that he was cracking up away from his friends but this other thing. This Zack thing could do with some exploring, if only to take Zan's mind away from Emma's predicament.

One thing was for certain. He was going to have to discuss this with Zan.

----

"Okay, so here we are at Sandeman number 5," Carrot looked around. "Unless the father of our country is an actual rat, he ain't here."

Joshua's lip fell even more at the rubble heap beyond the gates. "Father not here?"

"Nope," Carrot sighed. "I'm beginning to think that your address list is older than these buildings. Where did you get it, by the way?"

"Upstairs people."

"Ah, those people," Carrot said sagely. "In that case it's definitely out of date."

"One more?" Joshua said hopefully.

"What the hell," Carrot shrugged. "I don't have anything better to do."

He ignored the beeper in his belt that had buzzed him at least six times in the last day. It was selective defiance.

The final place was a nondescript building in downtown Seattle. Its rustic charm was marred somewhat by the fact that the wood was rotting, the paint was peeling and the termites were partying.

At Joshua's sad bark, Carrot walked up to the wraparound front porch and called loudly, "Hello?"

He stepped onto the rotting wood, surprised to find it sturdier than it appeared. He racked his knuckles on the door but there was no answer.

The door was locked so he knelt down and stared into the keyhole gauging for intruders. Nothing.

He heard Joshua scuff his feet and knew that the dog-man was feeling discouraged and unhappy.

He dug a lock pick kit out of his boot, smiling at the memory of Zan showing him how to pick locks back in Wyoming; one of his few good memories of that place. But still it was useful now as the door swung open under his ministrations.

He gestured for Joshua to follow him and half-grinned as he could almost see the man's ears perk up.

Joshua walked into the house and stopped, Carrot not far behind him.

"Huh," he said in his typical economical way.

Joshua didn't pay attention, he was sniffing wildly and Carrot knew that his tail would have been wagging—if he had one.

"Father."

Carrot eyed the place, "Uh huh."

"Not here now, gone. But this was father's place."

"You sure?"

Joshua beamed, making his face look simultaneously menacing and endearing. "His books… I remember."

"Well good, it's great that he was… literary. But I don't think he's here, dude."

"No dude," Joshua shook his head, his shaggy mane flying until he paused staring down at the ground. "Look, look!"

He darted to the ground and pushed aside papers to pick up a long black stick—no, it was a cane. With a pearly white figure on top.

Carrot squatted to get a better look.

The head of a lion, the body of a beast and the tail of a serpent. It was symbolic of a chimera, it was unusual, it was familiar, it was… ugly.

"The Manticore symbol," he drawled. "I was wondering how long it took for it to show up."

"Father not here."

"And hasn't been for a while. I know that wasn't exactly the plan."

"Joshua and father, that's the plan."

"Me too," Carrot added. "I have questions for this guy."

Before he could say more his belt buzzed again. He bit off a curse.

"Wanna come back with me, Josh? Tara'll make you little dogs, she'll even heat them."

"Stay at father's house." Joshua stated firmly, then added plaintively, "But little dogs..."

"I'll bring some over tomorrow, I promise."

Carrot stood up and stretched. His belt buzzed again.

"Wanna eat a beeper instead?"

The confused look on Joshua's face was almost worth the summons.

Almost.

----

Feen walked into the dilapidated building, her eager eyes searching around for the familiar form of her boyfriend. He was bent over a table filled with electrical equipment, his hands diligently working with a screwdriver. Even from over here she could hear him hum under his breath and she leaned against the doorway to appreciate the picture that he made.

His almost shaven head had grown in the few weeks that they had been away from Manticore giving him a less severe look. The fact that they had bought only used clothes gave him a sweet rumpled air without making him look scruffy and the denim jeans suited him more than khaki's and combats ever had. His toffee coloured skin made him look tanned, healthy and… _damned gorgeous,_ she thought with a grin.

"Hey you."

Techie's head darted up at the greeting and they widened in recognition before he gave her a rueful grin.

"You shouldn't sneak up on a guy with a screwdriver."

She pushed away from the door and walked over, "I'm armed, so I'll take my chances."

He checked out her claim and smiled to see that she was indeed armed—with lunch.

She handed him the sandwich and perched herself on the edge of the desk.

"Haven't seen you in a while."

"Been busy," he shrugged and looked down. "Besides you've been more than entertained, figured I was in the way."

Feen frowned and shoved her shirtsleeves up. She had to wear a mans shirt and the damned sleeves kept falling down her arms to cover her hands. She knew it made her look elfin and cute, but it was annoying.

"What do you mean?"

Techie shrugged again, avoiding her eyes.

"Tech?"

He poked at a electrical board, "You and Mole."

Feen's lips broke into a curve, "You're jealous."

"No," he snapped but he was too hasty and she laughed in pure delight.

"You are! You're jealous of Mole!"

His voice turned icy, "If you'll excuse me."

"Oh, no, you don't!" she said grabbing his screwdriver off him and holding it behind her back. "Talk to me."

"Feen!" he said threateningly but she grinned impishly at him.

"Techie!" she mocked.

He sagged wondering how it was that he could look calmly down the barrel of a gun and say nothing but one look from Feen— a bad tempered pixie— was enough to have him spilling his guts.

"It's not important," he said hesitantly. "I mean it's not like we are at Manticore any more. There aren't strict rules to follow as to who you can talk to or… or… be with."

"Be with?"

Techie gestured vaguely towards the window, "Now that the Xs are coming in, in dribs and drabs, I see the way that they look at you."

"How's that?"

"Like you are something new and delicious that they want to taste."

Feen smiled at the tone of his voice, half remembrance and half distraction, and watched as he pulled himself back together.

He pulled himself back, "Anyway, I guess I just wanted to say that if you found any of… interest. Then don't hold back on my account."

The grin was gone and that gleam was in her eye. The one that said that now was a good time to shut up. Unfortunately it only worked on Techie as a precursor to babbling.

"I mean you are great and there are guys that look at you here and I know that we grew up in the same unit and that can get old, I mean it's not old to me but if it is to you then that's fine… I mean not fine, but understandable. People grow and sometimes they grow apart and want to try something new…not that I ... but you might… I wouldn't be okay… I mean, I would if you wanted—"

"Techie,"

"Yes?"

"Stop now."

"Stopping," he took a deep breath.

"Firstly, if I wanted one of them I would have them," she glared at him pointedly, "I don't need permission."

He opened his mouth but she cut him off, "Ah ah! Secondly, who's to say that I do want one of them, I mean I have you, don't I?"

"See that's my point," he raked a hand through his hair. "You only started to be with me because you were trying to 'fix' me. Remember, girly talks and forced association? You wanted me to be sociable and then one day I turn around and we're dating… or whatever. I don't even know of that is what you wanted."

Feen stared at him for a long moment. "Do you remember just before we started in on that whole sex-ed crap?"

"Yeah?"

"I came to your cell because I was worried that you'd take up with another girl, remember?"

Techie bit his lip and cast his mind back.

_"Well?" he'd watched her pace for about twenty minutes and had wondered when she was finally going to get to the point._

_"In a minute!" she'd snapped and continued to pace and then abruptly turned to face him, folding her arms over her chest, her red hair fluffy around her face as she glared at him._

_"Don't you have somewhere to be?"_

_He realised that in her own way she was worried about him and another girl. Despite the over confident faced she put on for everyone she was as insecure as he was. _

_"I don't want to go," he said slowly, to pacify her but also because he meant it. "I'd rather stay here with you. There's no girl that I have ever looked at before and none I want to be with like I do you."_

_He reached forward and took hold of her hands, watching the unshed tears glistening in her eyes. "You know that, right?"_

_Feen shook her head, "You never say. I'm always the one that pushes and makes the effort, you seem content to go along with it but I was worried that you only did it because you were scared of me, t-that you don't really like me like that and you were glad to have an excuse to go with another girl."_

_Techie looked at her in astonishment; he had never thought that she would feel anything like that. Feen was always so calm, collected and in control. The idea that she was insecure about his feelings was something that he had never even considered._

_Her confidence permeated the very air that she lived in and he was hard pressed to reconcile that with the uncertainty that glimmered in her expression._

_"I like you, I care about you. If I didn't want to be with you then I'd hide more--" Feen laughed damply at that, --"and believe me, I know how to hide by now."_

_"You like me?" Feen bit her lip. "I like you too, lots."_

_Techie leaned forward and captured her lips. The kiss was soft and sweet and just that little bit possessive and when he pulled away he was happy to see the sadness had left her eyes and they twinkled again._

_"I'd better go," he said, letting his reluctance permeate his voice and was rewarded as Feen smiled._

_"Yeah, have fun," she'd added hurriedly, "but not too much."_

_Techie had laughed and left her cell with a grin._

He smiled again as he thought of his confident girl babbling nervously. It had possibly been the only time that he had been the one that was in control. "What about it?"

"That day I was so nervous. So worried that you finally had the opportunity to get away from me. After all, I was the one that actively pursued you and you went into hiding more often than not. Even now it's like you can't wait to be rid of me." A crease appeared on her forehead. "Is that it? Do you want me to go off and find someone else? Is this more your way of getting me gone?"

"No!" he grabbed her hand. "Damn it, Feen, I never meant that I wanted you gone. It's just that we are so different. You are flamboyant and social; I'm more quiet and isolated. I stutter through most conversations while you flow. I just… thought you'd want someone more like you."

She shuddered, "Damn, that's a scary thought. A male version of me."

Techie grinned.

Feen sighed and looked carefully at him, "I never said, but I should have. I think… I think that I love you."

Silence.

Now it was Feen's turn to babble. "I mean I'm not sure. I think that I do, I've never been in love and I've never put the feelings to words, but it feels like love. I feel sick when you go missing and… and I'm happy when you're near. I think about you all the time and I love being with you and—"

"Feen?"

"Hmm?"

"Shut up," Techie grabbed her arm and pulled her in front of him and into his arms, bending her over the table as he caught her mouth in a kiss.

Feen relaxed as he stroked her back and caught his fingers in her hair.

She pulled away, "You tell me to shut up far too often for someone who is scared of me."

"But when I kiss you, you forget to hit me. It all works out." He grinned broadly.

Her eyes narrowed, "I'll remember that. I owe you for that, pal."

"Uh, I could lay you on the desk and make you forget that too?" he offered hopefully.

Feen looked behind her in horror at the desk strewn with gadgets and chips and pieces of metal. "If you think I'm going to have sex with you here, you are vastly mistaken. If you come down on a circuit board the wrong way there could be considerable damage."

"Good point," he mused. "Good circuit boards are hard to find."

"I meant to me."

He smiled sheepishly, "Oh, yeah."

She rolled her eyes at him, "Some romantic."

"How about this then, I know that I love you," --her breath caught at his tone-- "I know because, to me, you are everything. I don't want you to find someone new. I want you to be with me," he smiled, "Doesn't mean I'm not scared shitless of you, but that it's a state I find myself enjoying."

Feen swallowed, "Okay, that's romantic."

"Can I eat my lunch now?"

"And that's a guy," she laughed as he had intended. "Okay, eat, Project Techie continues tomorrow."

He froze with the sandwich halfway to his mouth, "Wait, wait, I thought Project Techie was over? Girl talks, socialisation—I did that."

"Uh huh and graduated. Now we are in the real world and as we know social skills begin at home. Tomorrow we start by talking to Mole and Dix. We'll stop you being a social disorder."

"I like being a social disorder!" he said plaintively, his appetite gone.

She pouted playfully, "Don't you want me to be happy?"

"Well, yeah… sometimes."

"Play nicely with others, that'll make me happy." She got up and walked away with his staring after her in dismay.

He thought for a second and then called after her, "Can't I just steal you something nice?"

----

Drew wrapped her arms around herself tightly, uncomfortable at being in this close a proximity to so many people.

It wasn't that she wasn't used to being around people, after all Manticore was actually quite enormous and she was often surrounded by her fellow soldiers. But this seemed to be the first time that she was in enemy territory with no discernable exit and no back-up— it was a little unnerving.

She used her thumb to push back the lock of hair that dropped into her eyes and tucked her arms more firmly around her middle wishing that she had heeded Ed's offer to show her around the country, rather than venture into the city where it was possible that she would be hunted. But Drew knew her fellow soldiers and knew that to have stayed in Seattle was lunacy, they would want to be close should anything happen, but only the most courageous, foolhardy— or insane— would dare stay within the city itself. So she had set out for a small town, ravaged by the pulse, called Kent.

Pretty enough, once upon a time, it was now just another broken down town with a bustling market place and abandoned businesses by the dozen.

She was feeling sick again and it was making her crazy. She was used to being the best of the best and this weak feeling just wasn't cutting it for her. Never mind that less than four weeks ago she had been close to death with more holes in her than a sieve, she wanted to be healthy again, dammit!

She elbowed her way through the crowds, feeling the ache in her side grow with each exaggerated movement until it was dull thudding under her rib cage.

She tried to think of something that could distract her from the pain and tried to concentrate on the sounds and smells around her, cataloguing them for future usage like they had been taught.

After all, if she had to spend a lot of time in this town then she should at least know where and how to buy food and…

She stopped dead in the middle of the crowded street, her eyes wide and her mouth almost hanging open.

Was that…? It could have been… Was it?

Drew pushed the person in front of her out of the way as she stared down the street. There just walking past a market stall was a tall man with broad shoulders and a familiar shadow.

"Hey!" she called loudly but he didn't hear her over the cacophony of sound.

Drew rammed her way forward through the crowds and emerged just as he crossed the street.

Drew raced over and stood behind the figure, her heart pounding in her throat.

"Alec?"

He slowly turned and a grin broke over her face as he raised an eyebrow in that, oh so familiar, way.

Drew couldn't hold herself back as she threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms firmly around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder.

"Alec! Oh God, I missed you so much. I had no idea if you were okay or what had happened." She squeezed him as tightly as she dared and was vaguely comforted when his hands tentatively touched her back in a gesture of warmth.

"Uh," he began and she stepped back wiping away tears that she had realised had escaped.

"Sorry, Alec, didn't mean to blubber all over you. I'm just so pleased to see you."

He smiled nervously, "Uh, thank you. But I think you might have me confused with someone else."

Drew's smile faded, "Hah hah, Alec, it's me, Drew."

"Nice to meet you, Drew, but my name isn't Alec."

Drew looked up into those familiar green eyes, with more than dash of deep brown. But not the warm brown she was used to. No, there was coldness, an oddness that hadn't been there before. Her eyes trekked backwards. His hair was cut shorter than Alec's had been the last time that she had seen him and was gelled at the front rather than left to its natural curl. He held himself tighter than Alec ever had and seemed to resonate with an energy that unnerved her.

"Not…?" she hesitated and a flash of nervousness covered her face. "Who are you?"

He half-grinned, "My name's Ben."

"Ben?"

"Pleased to meet cha!" he grinned broadly and Drew's breath caught in her throat. Her side throbbed and her head hurt more than she thought possible.

This wasn't Alec, not her Alec but he had his face. There was only one person it could be and that was the person that had almost single-handedly broken Max and Alec's relationship and thus the entire Special Ops brigade. This was the '09er.

Max's brother.

The '09er.

Drew thought she was going to be sick. Her head spun and she lurched forward straight into his out stretched arms.

"Whoa, are you okay?"

"N-no, I need…" Drew swallowed and her hands shook. "Oh!"

The strong scent of male was the last thing that she heard as, for the second time in her life, Drew fainted.

Tbc….

------------------

* * *

**Bet cha didn't see that coming did ya?**

* * *

Given Alias- I agree I do think the darker undertone was what made the series. You will see more of that now that their behaviours are coming through.

Geminagel- Sunny has her own brad of humour and who doesn't love Dek and Aiden?

Crazy- vampire Slayer- Yes he heard her and the bells have started to ring. Guess who comes soon?

Moonlite star- BJ and Jace are becoming fun to write which is odd because I didn't originally intend for them to be a main story—They are great though More Greek family soon too- The whole BBQ!

Guest Type person- Made sense and yes they will figure it out soon. White is mean but oh so cool. You need to laugh more quietly in class!

Jynx- hey pet, everyone loves those Greeks- fun aren't they?

Black Rose9- Biggs and Sunny- Oceans2! Cool, I like that.

Lozz 422- thank you I am glad that you liked the fight scene, it took a while but I was enjoying that too. More Jace Zack soon.

Sigma1- Biggsworth and Metson the names made me grin more than anything- talk about lack of imagination!

Ganko- hope you had a great vacation and a good holiday season!

Fangedangel- I appreciate it when you get the chance to review so anytime is good. Falling into Kansas was a nod to the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy comes home and has that weird- everything's the same but its all different feeling and I think that that is what many of the transgenics are feeling right now. They understand that the world is exactly what it has always been but trying to find their place in it is hard.

Shyleigh3- he is definitely coming into his own recently isn't he? Gotta love the tall tortured type

Feenian- oh they have their own little display coming up soon, a whole chapter dedicated almost entirely to the Greeks. The new story is based on AU where they lose the war with the familiars, so far its dark but fun! I will post as soon as I have more than a few chapters written.

BlueJean452- Cheers pet, glad that you enjoyed that. I think Jace and BJ are well suited so who knows if it will turn to romance, they seem to have minds f their own!

Ru- Sorry pet, they aren't as heavily featured because so many of the others have huge ass storylines, I will bring our Pix and Chance back soon though, probably around chapter 8 and then they'll be here to stay.

Lotamoxie- Dek is fast becoming one of my faves too, he's just so delicious! Yeah I think Jace and BJ would make a sweet couple, don't you? I have a few shock pairing to come too!

DiscordantDragon- Hey there and welcome, I am so glad that you like the series, it does seem to have a life all to itself and is so much fun to write. The Greeks, too, are enormous fun to have around and they will feature heavily in the next few chapters.

SGOU- True, so I am not as evil as you'd imagine! You love that Anna BJ thing don't cha? Well you may have to wait a while for that. Aww I'm sure BJ would appreciate the hug that you'd give him, he wasn't hugged enough as a child. I like the idea of him and Jace as they bring out the best in each other and yes he did overhear the comments to Zack and is suitably suspicious now. The characters seem to have control over themselves and I have none so I have no idea what they will end up doing! I don't think that Casino boss would dare to ask for the money back from Sunny and Biggs- do you? More Joshua and Carrot soon. Logan needs to die in the worst way possible! Gotta love my darling Dek and Aiden, I have big plans for both of my guys, ain't they cute, that whole exchange had me in hysterics- they work so well together! And yes you have sort of the answer there.

Jade k- yup its all go from this point on. All fun fun fun. Feel free to tell me what you like best.

Natacup82- More Feena dn techie- your wish is my command! And Drew's meeting wasn't exactly who you wanted it to be with but imagine the consequences of that!

Angel of Darkness231- Hey sweets glad you like, more soon. Grounded? Have you been naughty?

Natasqi- nutcase! Oh well it makes computer time that much more special when you can actually get to reading the stories that you miss.

Elfie- Exactly, well done. the chapter heading was something of a symbolic one.

Shygirl1- Thank you angel, I am glad that you like it and I hope continue to do so.

Mrs- I know what stressing over school is like so you are forgiven. No one likes the Log!


	7. Second verse, same as the first

**A/N- I was asked for some couple not to go through hell and have fun for a change. So say a brief hello to Coco- enjoy. Here is the BBQ and other fun stuff.

* * *

**

**Chapter 7- Second verse same as first.**

Anna opened her eyes and immediately wished that she hadn't. She was tied down to a contraption that looked like something from a science fiction kinky catalogue. It was a long metal table standing upright with claw like straps tied over her chest to keep her vertical, the metal was icy and uncomfortable and she had an aching urge to use the toilet.

Oh, there was also a man standing in front of her.

"Rise and shine."

"I'd rather not," she replied flatly and let her eyes drift away from him. The room was a large one as far as she could see from where she was tied up. It was a lab like the bio ones she had seen at Manticore, full of electrical equipment and more glass bottles and beakers than you could shake a stick at.

The dark haired man smirked at her and moved out of the way so that she could see the rest of the room. There was a scruffy looking nerd over in one corner holding a can of coke like a safety blanket and several men in suits scattered around the room.

The scruffy man had his hands clenched.

"I did say that there would be three steps in this process, Mr. White. Step one: Target the pathogen to a single individual, expose him to it via airborne dispersal, make sure he's the only one it affects. Went off without a hitch, did it not?"

Out of the corner of her eye Anna saw one of the tall men place a can on top of one of the humming machines. The scruffy guy broke off in irritation.

"Uh, excuse me--could you _not_ put that there, please? That is a very expensive piece of equipment."

Without an expression the man removed the can.

"Thank you. Step two: Target the pathogen to a specific race of people. The Chinese at the bus stop. I used, uh, gene expression on the base pair for the epicanthic fold--you know, the, uh, the eyelid. Worked perfectly. No one died but them, yes?"

Anna was getting a bad feeling about this guy and not just his dubious fashion sense. He exuded intellectual desperation. The same sort that she had seen on last minute dissertation students at university, eager to prove their knowledge wasn't the result of belated plagiarism; a sort of desperate 3am, two-hours-before-hand-in edginess that came from too much coffee and too little sleep. It wasn't attractive at the best of times and right now, with her tied to this torture trap, it made Anna a little more than uneasy.

Then of course there was that little matter of the dark haired man presently sitting in the chair in front of her with his legs stretched out like he hadn't a care in the world. There was something more to him that met the eye and she knew it. Ignore, for a moment, the fact that he had knocked her out without seemingly breaking a sweat. Ignore the way that he coolly watched everything as if cataloguing it for a later date and ignore the way that he seemed to know her. What mostly pushed that feeling home was the fact that he _scared_ her.

Anna was scared of him.

And that didn't sit well at all.

He was definitely one to pay attention to and so she tuned back to the enlightening conversation.

"Your technology is very impressive, Cyril, but let's move on to step three."

The man—Cyril—smirked. "I'm ready. See, it was—it was easy with the Chinese. I had specific gene sequences that I could target. But the kids you're targeting, he chuckled_, "_Wow… that was tough. See, because, uh, they're just a little bit of everything, aren't they? In the end—"

The dark haired man sighed impatiently. "Cyril!"

"In the end, I targeted their immunological surveillance cells—"

"Cyril!" he snapped and stood up. "Action is character. Show me some. I showed you, didn't I?"

"Yes," Cyril nodded nervously.

"I paid you half, up front. I gave you everything that you asked for. Now it's time for you to show me. This is your test subject."

He pointed to Anna, wide-eyed with understanding.

"No way!" she screamed. "No way at all. I didn't get through that… that hell to be used as a guinea pig."

"Shut up."

"Bite me!"

He rolled his eyes and turned back to Cyril ignoring her string of obscenities.

"You couldn't have sedated her?" Cyril asked in disgust.

"Let me worry about Miss Manners here. You have the test ready by tomorrow."

"No problem. We could do it right now, if you'd like."

He shook his head, "No. I want to do it in the field. I want to know for sure. Plus I have to avoid certain… associates who don't know about the trial."

"Well, you're the boss. I can manufacture enough to blanket the entire western seaboard by Friday. How you disperse it is, of course, up to you, Agent White."

"I have a plan."

"Great, by the weekend, there won't be a transgenic left alive from here to San Diego.

"Good. Maybe I'll play a round of golf on Sunday."

Anna's eyes widened impossibly further at his callous remark.

"Uh _hello_ this is extermination of an entire race, you Nazi!"

The man was suddenly an inch away from her, menace gleaming in his eyes and fury on his face.

"You transgenics scum aren't fit to be called human. Animals," he spat.

"Someone has issues!" she retorted. "Wassup White, one of those animals steal your girlfriend or…" she looked him up and down, "your boyfriend?"

"You all think you are so damn funny, Manticore wasn't worth the spit on my shoe and neither are you, your fellow trash or Ly— those who led you."

Anna froze, "No one led us."

"I'm sure your handlers will be sorry to hear that."

He stalked away ignoring her as he continued to talk to Cyril about his plans and left Anna with a sinking feeling that there was more to what he had said… or not said.

She was in trouble.

---

Coco had never been in love before. It was hard to have any sort of feelings while she was in Manticore but out here, when she was surrounded by the feel of Jason… it was easy to see how humans lived and died for love.

Jason tucked his hand into hers as they walked down the street, hands swinging.

They had been on another date and she was feeling happy and content with her lot in life. She couldn't believe how lucky she was and hoped that nothing would ever happen to break this sensation of bliss.

"Hey," Jason broke into her thoughts. "How about ice cream?"

Coco smiled at the man who held her heart, "That sounds wonderful."

---

Skye and Flex were both used to going on undercover missions and had grown accustomed to the feelings that deception caused. However their charges weren't so familiar and anticipated that afternoon's mission with trepidation.

"I think I'm going to be sick!" Icarus complained as they drove down the street in Flex's new car. It wasn't the "babe magnet" red sports car that he had longed for but a respectable truck suitable for his new family. He shook his head as he thought about it again. Who'd have thought Flex- the family man.

"You'll be fine, Cari," he soothed and concentrated on driving down the windy street.

"It'll be fun!" Zeph enthused causing Flex to chuckle at him.

Skye suddenly twirled in the front seat to look at the Greeks, "Okay, everyone remember the ground rules here?"

"No blurring!" piped up Zeph immediately.

"No fighting," Icarus giggled.

"No sarcasm," Isacar added doubtfully.

"And definitely no disembowelling," Nyx finished dryly.

"Does tend to put a damper on the evening," Isacar remarked and Flex bit his lip in stifled amusement.

Skye looked out of the window and clutched Galen tighter as she hid her own grin at Icarus's wry humour.

The house that they pulled up in front of was a standard wooden slatted homey kind of place with a wrap around porch and a powder blue door.

"Here we go," Skye breathed and pushed the door open.

They all piled out of the truck and stood on masse outside the front door.

"Show no fear!" grinned Zeph.

Flex grimly met Skye's eyes recalling the standard phrase from their training assignments-- 'Show no fear' had been their watchword to which they had to adhere at all costs or suffer the penalty of Psy Ops.

They had learned it well.

Flex reached up and knocked the door and held his breath.

They didn't have to wait long as Mike opened the door wearing a blue striped apron with _Kiss the cook_ emblazoned on it.

"Hey Flex, you made it! Great—are you any good at grilling?"

He could make a suspect crack in less than five minutes but somehow he didn't think Mike wanted help with interrogation techniques.

"Uh, possibly."

Mike sighed in relief. "Thank God, I was charring everything in sight. Come in!"

Ah, cooking! Oh wait, cooking?

He had a sudden memory of Life skills class back at Manticore and Dek refusing point blank to eat anything of his—ever!

Skye gave him an equally horrified look as she walked in the door.

"Say no," she whispered. "Remember what we said about disembowelling!"

Flex cleared his throat, "Uh, you remember Skye?"

Mike grinned, "Charmed, sweetheart, call me Mike."

"Hi," she said almost shyly.

"These are the kids; Nyx," Nyx nodded, "Icarus and Isacar."

Mike grinned, "Which is which?"

"I'm Icarus," she beamed and gave a little jump. "I am _so_ pleased to meet you."

Isacar gave his sister an odd look and held out his hand, "Isacar, less enthusiastic but still pleased."

Mike choked on a laugh as he shook Isacar's hand. "Pleasure."

Zeph suddenly spoke up, "Why?"

Mike looked down at the dark haired young boy who stared quizzically up at him. "Why what?"

"Why kiss the cook? Is that required? Is that even hygienic?"

Mike stared down at his apron, "It's a joke."

Zeph shrugged. "I don't get it," he sighed. "Adults bewilder me."

Flex bit back his grin and introduced him, "Mike, this little fireball is Zeph-- Zephyr." Mike nodded at Zephyr and smiled heartily.

"Clever kid."

Zeph beamed widely, liking this man who didn't look down on him.

"And this?" Mike gestured to the small child hiding behind Skye's legs.

"Galen," Skye answered tucking the boy's hand in hers. "He's… shy."

_Understatement_, thought Mike as the dark haired boy shook in trepidation as Mike's eyes drifted over him. "Well," he said, "come on in and meet everyone."

They exchanged glances quickly and as one walked into the house and the door shut behind them.

"So, Skye, my wife is in the yard and cooking up a storm. Her name is Marcie and she makes a mean fruit salad. Do you cook?"

"Occasionally," Skye admitted stroking Galen's trembling form. "I'm more than glad to leave it to Nyx and Icarus though."

"I love to cook!" enthused Icarus. "I never used to get much chance back at M… my old home, of course it's very different to cook for an entire family, I'm sure your wife must be great at it."

Isacar winced at the high decibel and leaned towards Nyx, "Did someone slip something into her breakfast?"

"Helium?" Nyx offered. "She's better than a dog-whistle. However it is most aggravating. I may slap her."

Icarus shot Nyx a quick glare but never stopped chattering.

Isacar hid a grin and walked besides Flex into the garden. He stopped on the threshold and knew that his fellow "siblings" had also frozen. The yard was bigger than their house and was filled—filled!—with people. Kids screamed and scrambled at one end throwing some sort of ball back and forth whilst grown ups hung around a smouldering grill and a huge table filled with bowls and cups.

"Welcome to chaos!" laughed Mike, not seeing the hesitant and, frankly unnerved glances that the children shot each other.

"Chaos is home," Nyx added under her breath shakily.

"Wow! Lots of kids," Zeph edged closer to Skye in an uncharacteristic show of nerves.

Mike noticed however and smiled, "Oh, they are all great kids. You'll get along great. Uh, HEY JESSE!"

Galen clutched Skye like a lifeline as a tall boy with curly blond hair raced up and skidded to a halt, "Yeah, dad?"

"This is Zeph, why don't you show him around?"

Jesse eyed the other youth with a wrinkled nose. "Zeph?

"Uh huh, short for Zephyr."

Jesse shrugged, "You wanna climb trees?"

Zeph's eyes lit up, "Yes!"

Jesse beamed in approval, "Okay then!"

Zeph slipped away from Skye and started to race after the blond boy.

Skye called quickly, "Zeph?" he spun. "Slowly," she added and he nodded in understanding.

"My daughter, Missy is around here somewhere too, Icarus… that is a pretty name."

"Missy sounds a nice name too," Icarus offered.

"Sounds like the name for a dog," remarked Nyx in an aside to Isacar who chuckled.

"Missy?" Flex grinned.

"Short for Melissa," Mike explained.

"Well, Mikey, don't make our guests stand in the doorway!"

Mike twitched and turned to face his wife. Marcie was a slim woman with dark hair pulled back in a pony tail and dressed in smart trousers and shirt. She had a smiling face which still managed to be somewhat stern.

"Hi," she said. "I'm Marcie. Welcome to our home. You must be Flex, Mike talks so much about you!"

"Really?" Flex asked worriedly.

"Can't do a thing wrong in his opinion, I'm almost jealous. He sings your praises to high heaven."

Skye watched in tender amusement as Flex blushed. Back in Manticore they were never thanked or told that they were appreciated, or even that they had done a good job. It was a first to be praised and she knew that Flex was feeling that for the first time.

"Um, uh, thanks," he managed to stammer.

"Mom?" They watched as a tall blonde girl walked up behind Marcie. "Corey's allergic to nuts; does the Florida salad contain pistachios?"

"No, honey," Marcie said.

"Shame," the girl added quietly.

"Melissa!" Marcie snapped. "Behave; these are guests from dad's work."

Missy eyed Flex appreciatively and the turned her gaze from Skye to Isacar, quickly bypassed a cool looking Nyx and settled on Icarus.

"Hi, I'm Missy."

"Icarus," she put out her hand. "Nice to meet you."

The two blondes looked at each other for a second as if gauging the other's sincerity and then Missy smiled.

"Come and meet the guys, they'll love you." She looked at Nyx uncertainly, "You can come too."

"No, thank you." Nyx smiled and Missy swallowed.

Icarus grabbed hold of Missy's arm, "So, tell me _all _about you."

"Helium overload," Isacar choked.

"I still maintain that she needs a slap," Nyx added.

Marcie grinned at Skye, "Skye is it? Well, you have to try some of my chilli chive sauce. It is to die for."

Skye smiled uncertainly, "Uh, well Flex—"

"Can have a beer with the boys," Marcie stated firmly. "I want to get to know you."

It seemed to Skye that she had no choice in this and with an odd sense of panic she capitulated and followed the dark haired woman across the green.

"Should I be afraid?" Flex asked Mike as Marcie started chatting faster.

"Marcie is mostly harmless," Mike grinned. "But so are snakes."

Flex sighed, "Oh, Skye can deal with snakes. It's girl talk that worries her."

Mike looked nonplussed and then shrugged, "Come and watch me incinerate animals."

Flex nodded and followed in his wake leaving Nyx and Isacar staring after him.

"I assume that he thinks we are responsible enough to take care of ourselves," Nyx observed dryly.

"Or we're antisocial enough not to be bothered with."

Nyx turned to Isacar, "That's very cynical."

"Are you impressed?"

"Very."

Isacar grinned and pushed his icy blond hair away from his eyes. "Let's go and try that mean fruit salad."

Nyx followed him, "How is it mean?"

"Perhaps they were nasty grapes and selfish pineapples?"

She eyed him, "I find your sense of humour odd."

Isacar grinned, "Great. Most of the great players of the world were misunderstood."

"Oh, I understand you perfectly. I just find you strange."

"Well that could work; all the greats had some sort of disease, either of the body or of the mind. Nietzsche, Keats, Byron."

"What's yours?"

"Minor Oedipal complex," he grinned wolfishly.

Nyx turned to face him, "You do realize that Skye isn't your mother?"

Isacar pouted, "Ruined another good plan."

"Like I said, strange."

They arrived at the table laden with food and drink and grabbed plates. They walked along the table edge and Isacar passed comments on the various dishes trying to startle the severe Nyx into laughter.

"It's no use," she told him simply. "Manticore didn't program me with a sense of humour."

"Program? Tell me Nyxie, do you think of yourself as a robot?"

"No," she raised an eyebrow. "But call me Nyxie again and I shall… what was that phrase… exterminate?"

Isacar grinned at the memory of watching some 20th century science fiction show with her; some grammatically incorrect show about a doctor who travelled through time. Highly inconceivable but fun for someone who had never watched television before.

He opened his mouth to retort but was distracted by the sound of whistling. He dropped his plate and spun to catch a ball inches away from the back of his head.

"Wow, dude, cool catch!" Two young teens raced up to him.

"Dude?" Nyx mouthed at an amused Isacar.

"Hey, wanna play?" one asked and Isacar looked pained.

"Play what?"

"Football, dude," the taller of the two said. "Come on over and we'll pick sides again."

Isacar bit his lip, "Okay then, let me just clean this up."

They raced away and called their team mates to one point, gesturing back at him.

"Football?" Nyx hid a smile.

Isacar sighed and rolled his eyes, "Why couldn't they have invited me to a poetry reading or a study group? A Discussion of Boyle's law or Pythagorean algorithms? Why something as Neanderthal as kicking a pigs bladder over a field?"

"Apparently teenage boys would rather expend energy in pointless exertions of the physical kind than expand their mind," Nyx shrugged. "You don't have to join in."

"I am supposed to be maintaining the subterfuge that I am a normal teenage boy," he reminded her.

"Then by all means go and… frolic."

He sighed and stood up, brushing grass off his trousers, "Once more unto the breach dear friends, wish me luck."

"Try not to kill anyone," Nyx remarked dryly. "Nothing will kill our cover faster than a corpse."

"Duly noted," he sighed and walked over to the group of boys.

Nyx watched him go with a smile on her face.

----

He had half moons tracking all over his palms from clenching his fists too tight and his eyes looked so bloodshot and dull that he could have passed for a corpse.

B.J. splashed icy water onto his face and noted absently the hands that shook in fierce abandonment.

He stepped back and leaned hard against the wall, his head tilted back to stare at the ceiling of the grey tiles. A tear slipped from his eye and slid into the dampness that his freshly washed hair made at his nape.

He bit his jaw tightly and clenched his hands again.

He heard a muffled cry from down the hall and knew that Emma was upset again, maybe even it was his fault, being unable to control his reactions to his dreams and thoughts.

They were all he thought about now, day and night, he had flashbacks to being tortured and poked. He was constantly in fear of discovery by his boss, even if during daylight hours he never let slip the cocky, confident façade that had served him so very well these past few years.

When he was away from the flat it wasn't so bad, but the guilt of leaving Zan to take care of Emma ate at him when the dreams didn't. It was only at the office when he had been given a task and was under pressure that he could finally relax.

The truth was that he felt he was coming apart at the seams and that scared him more than any of his dreams dared to do.

Back in Manticore they had all heard the story of a transgenic that went insane. It wasn't a pretty story. Apparently he had been one of Lydecker's favourites, according to legend anyway, and had escaped along with the '09ers. The outside world had started to drive him crazy and he had taken to murder, caught by the authorities and subsequently escaped to live life on the streets babbling like a lunatic and eating rats.

He had no idea how much of that was true and the one time that he had dared to bring it up with Max she punched him in the jaw and told him not to be such an idiot.

He didn't bring it up again.

But now, standing in his bathroom and feeling like the whole world was out to get him, he wished he had. Then maybe he would have had something to make this transition easier. Maybe he would have had some idea of what it feels like to be out in the 'normal' world and how to know if you need certification.

B.J. shuddered and raked his hands through his hair again; glaring at himself in the mirror and grimacing as the dingy bathroom light made him look like a corpse.

He pushed open the bathroom door and headed into the kitchen, the dim light from the dawn filtering through the blinds.

Zan was sitting at the kitchen table nursing a cup of coffee and staring out of the window.

"Hey," B.J. said as he grabbed the steaming pot. "What are you doing up?"

"Watching the sun," Zan replied absently. "I didn't hear you get in last night."

"Came in at about one, said goodnight to Emma," B.J. shrugged.

"You're up after five hours sleep?"

"I didn't drop off until three, so make that two hours sleep and the answer is yes."

"Shit, B.J., how the hell can you stay awake, you didn't have Shark DNA did ya?"

"No," B.J. managed a rough grin, "But I have a cute boss. Looking at her is better than falling asleep."

Zan chuckled dryly, "Should have known."

B.J. looked at his friend carefully. There were huge bags under Zan's eyes and his skin looked dry and ragged. His normally soft blond hair was looking like straw and his frame sagged in the chair.

"You okay, pal?"

"Emma," Zan paused for a second. "I love her but I don't know how much more I can do for her."

B.J. felt his throat go dry. He knew that she had gotten progressively worse and neither of them could figure out why. She would lay moaning and crying all night, letting the bad emotions and feelings of the world surround her. She wasn't even fighting it, which they knew she could if she would just try. It seemed like, without her full family around, she was content just to lie there until she went insane and there was nothing that anyone could do about it.

B.J. smiled wanly at Zan and slumped into the chair next to him.

"It's not your fault, Zan."

"No?" Zan replied bitterly. "I'm just the poor sucker that she won't wake up for or talk to. Obviously I'm not enough for her to want to survive."

"That's not it at all!" B.J. said horrified. "Who knows what combinations of DNA that Manticore instilled in us? Maybe we even have some sort of built in self-destruct button that we can't see. It's possible that we all have an expiration date to go with the barcode."

"Thanks, B.J." Zan spat, "I didn't need to hear that. If I'd have wanted to listen to conspiracy theories I would have gone after Pix."

"I'm serious," B.J leaned forward. "Who's to say that we could only live as long as they allow us to? What if they fed us pills along with our food that enabled us to survive and without those pills we die."

Zan regarded him for a long moment, "Is there something you want to tell me, B.J.?"

B.J. just shrugged and sat back again, "Just a bunch of what-ifs."

"Well the '09ers seem to be okay, so if we do have an expiration date, it's not for a good ten years. Plenty of time to drink and make merry."

Thinking of his thoughts of the insane '09er in the bathroom this didn't exactly cheer B.J. up.

"If they are even alive," he said bitterly.

"Well, Max said that she'd seen her brother Ben and he'd told her that, other than the one she knew was dead, the others were alive. That was just last year."

"Yeah," B.J. chewed his lip and frowned, something occurring to him. "What were the names of her other brothers?"

"Uh, Ben, Krit, Ash, Zane, Zack, Seth and uh… Jondy… no, wait, that was a girl."

B.J. blinked, "Zack?"

"Pretty common name," Zan shrugged, "I was named after the guy too… well, him and Zane. Max said I reminded her of him. Tall, blond and great looking." He grinned.

B.J. was staring into space oddly, "Zack… Zack."

Zan sat back and waited.

"Max had sisters didn't she?"

"Yeah, Jondy, Syl, uh… Jace, Brin…Tingle, Tangle… Tinga!"

"What are the odds that Jace is a common name?"

"Slim to none, why?"

"My boss was on the phone to a Zack the other day talking about files and recruitment lists, classified files."

"Really?"

"My boss, Jacenette Knightsbridge, 'call me Jace'," he mocked quietly and looked up at Zan. "Coincidence?"

Zan leaned forward, his coffee forgotten. "So you think that this Jace and Zack are Max's siblings?"

"Could be," he nodded. "I mean it'd make sense. What better way of keeping an eye on what the military is doing that to have someone in a position to check new recruits and timetables out? Manoeuvres and whatever else and then to pass it on to the leader?"

"Phew!" Zan sat back. "Does she have a barcode?"

"Never thought to check, I mean she's hot. She has the standard military sense of humour."

"I didn't know they had one."

"Exactly. And she always takes care to have her hair in a thick braid down her back and wears high collared shirts."

Zan's face registered his amusement, "I see your observation skills are top notch… or is she that cute?"

"She's that cute," B.J. grinned.

"You know I vaguely recall some of the '09ers maybe I'd recognise her."

B.J. stared at Zan, "You know I forget sometimes that you were one of the Wyoming lot."

"Oh and were we so different?" Zan laughed.

"Well, us Atlantans thought the Seattle-ers were easy and the Wyoming lot were all freaks."

Zan hauled back and punched B.J. in the shoulder. "Well, from us freaks, I suggest that I come to work with you tomorrow. Maybe I can recognise your boss," he thought for a second. "If I remember 119 accurately, she was quite a looker. Blonde with big pouty lips."

"That's not Jace," remarked B.J. dryly, rubbing his arm in annoyance. "And it's a good idea for an idiot, think you can spare the time away from Emma?"

Zan glanced at the closed bedroom door, "To be honest, I don't think my being here is any good, so I guess so. As long as I'm not away too long. Besides, I wanted to see you actually do some work!"

"Hey!" B.J. laughed. "Whose money are we living off now? Maybe I should charge you rent."

"Bite me!"

"Not with someone else's teeth," B.J. was feeling better now. It wasn't the same as fighting with Dek and Aiden but Zan was still a fun sparring partner. "Ever heard of a shower?"

Zan's eyes narrowed, "I see someone has a death wish."

B.J. smirked, "Well, someone had to befriend Anna."

----

"Joshua?" Carrot called as he walked into the house. He stopped in amazement as his mind registered the differences between what he had left and what was now. He had left Joshua in a wreck of a house, coated with dust and ransacked beyond repair. What he walked into now was a great house filled with bright sunshine and nary a piece of dust to be seen. The floor was clear and there was nothing ransacked about the place.

"Hey!" he smiled as he saw his big friend edge around the door with a smile.

"Carrot fella."

"I see you cleaned up some," Carrot grinned. "Hygiene, it's so underrated these days."

"Pretty house under mess," Joshua nodded. "Father liked to be tidy."

"Yeah, I guess having a top secret genetics lab would make you slightly anal about tidiness. Wouldn't want anything to contaminate DNA. Who knows what would happen if a dust mite got in there?"

"Mite!" Joshua added his percent to the conversation and Carrot smiled absently.

"I told Tara about you. She's all for keeping you hidden and a secret from Lo…. Unsavoury types."

Joshua pouted, "Lay low?"

"Just for a while, pal. Once this whole dog-boy thing had cleared up some, I can get you a mask and we can get out."

Joshua's eyes lit up, "Out?"

"Yeah, Walkies," Carrot grinned and handed him a bag. "In the meantime, here are some cans of stuff. Food, you know. Should keep you going a while."

"Little dogs?"

"Yup and something called Spagettios and some fruit thing that Cece threw in. Possibly even some Spam—" he paused, "Best not get excited about that."

"Carrot worried about friends," Joshua pointed to Carrot's frown.

"Yeah, Cece doesn't look too good. She won't say anything but its obvious that she isn't feeling too well. See, we— me and Tara—have never been close to Cece and I think she finds it hard to talk to us about stuff. But the poor girl is getting paler and more secluded. Tara's wondering if it's something to do with her animal DNA but I don't know. All I'm certain about is that transgenics don't get sick."

"Do," Joshua nodded and rifled through the bag. "Father said make sick if new and hard. Must be strong for us."

Carrot looked at him, "New and hard?"

Joshua searched for the words, "Inside old, outside new. Little fella old, Carrot fella new. Little dogs old… Spam new."

"New stuff… new situations?" Carrot thought on that. "So new and difficult circumstances… wait, stress? Stressful circumstances can make us sick?"

"If virus strong."

"So like humans I guess our immune system is rendered weaker by stressful situations but still the bug has to be a strong one for us to succumb?" he nodded. "Makes sense."

"Strong bugs," Joshua grinned, his big teeth showing. "Maybe something in father's books."

Carrot looked up at the large dog-man, "Father's books?"

Joshua pointed enthusiastically to the hundreds of books that littered every surface and the bookshelves that ran the walls.

"Genetics?" Carrot asked as he moved closer to the shelves.

Joshua grinned widely at the distracted tone in his new friend's voice. He had someone else to read with now.

----

Zeph climbed as high as he could into the tree and watched as the older, bigger boys tried to catch up with him.

He knew he was faster and better by design but he had taken Skye's words to heart and was careful not to blur, even though it was difficult. He had so much energy he felt like it was bursting inside him, making him crazy if he couldn't use at least some of it.

"Hey Zeph, can you reach the top?"

"Sure!" he yelled back and scrambled through the lower branches towards his goal.

As he made it out of the dense foliage Zeph turned his face towards the breeze and the smells of the place, letting his enhanced senses spur him higher.

The place was divine. It wasn't like Manticore, where he'd been told to shut up, to sit down and learn before being thrown out into the cold to show them that he was better. Here people laughed instead of screamed and it seemed that they actually wanted to be there and near each other. Jesse was fun and kept telling him something about this school place which sounded a lot like Manticore, only Jesse said that teachers weren't allowed to hit the kids, which was new.

As he glanced over the field he could see Icarus laughing with a large group of girls and Isacar throwing a red ball to another boy who ran away with it. He saw Nyx watching him sedately and Flex standing next to a metal tin which was emitting billows of smoke. The guy in the odd apron was laughing though so it couldn't have been too bad.

He glanced around until he could see her and smiled. Skye.

There was something about her that made him feel safe and comforted. She smelled good too, to his senses she was like honey and peaches and he got the sense that she would protect him at all costs. Flex, too, was a protector but it was Skye who got his vote. She was the one who had lifted him away from danger and made him smile.

He liked Skye.

"Hey Zeph, dad's burnt the BBQ, he says we can eat the leftovers, come down."

"Okay!"

Zeph let himself slip and slither his way down until he was about ten foot off the ground and then he tucked himself into a ball, rolling down the braches like he had been taught so get himself closer to the ground.

As he wasn't paying attention to his balance, as he got closer he got caught on a twig and his shirt wrenched his arm so that he toppled out of the tree and to the floor.

"_Ow, doppelter Fluch_!" he swore in German as he hit the ground, momentarily winding himself. He knew that that was a stupid thing to do and he berated himself as if waiting for the trainers to tell him that he would be sent to solitary for such an infraction, after all, who didn't know how to fall out of a tree with feline grace? He was such an idiot, he knew that you had to check the angle of incline and ensure that debris wouldn't offset your course, what had he been thinking? He felt a shadow move over him and winced.

He opened one eye to see not a red-faced angry trainer ready to yell at him but a woman in a big paisley coloured dress standing over him.

"Ooh, you poor ickle treasure, did you hurt your poor ickle self?"

Zeph stood up and brushed off his trousers, "Thank you, ma'am, but the agony has somewhat abated. I appreciate your concern."

He walked over to where Jesse was waiting leaving the paisley woman with her mouth wide open.

"Hey Nyxie, how's it going?"

The dark skinned girl turned to see Flex leaning over the fence with a bottle of beer in his hand and a plate of something black and smoking.

"Cajun style?" she guessed.

"No, I just burned it," he shrugged, "Me and Life Skills didn't get on. Here's a life skills hint for ya, never eat anything I cook." He tipped the meat… ex-meat onto the ground for one of the many dogs that roamed the area. "What are you doing?"

"I was watching the game," she gestured to the field where the young men and boys were throwing some sort of ball to each other. "I must own to finding it perplexing."

Flex watched them for a few seconds, "I think the aim is—"

"Oh, I understand the objective and the execution," she added, "but the reasoning is beyond me. Fitness would be very well, but is made redundant by the empty calories of the alcohol that is being consumed. Training is neither needed nor appreciated by non-military or athletics and I can't fathom that being covered in dirt is in the least enjoyable and yet they are laughing. I am … baffled."

Flex hid a smile as he moved closer and wrapped his arm around the fence, "I think it's a release of testosterone that makes it so enthusiastic and they like being together. There is also the exhilaration of competition."

"I see," Nyx inclined her head. "For the want of something more… intellectual I suppose it is acceptable."

"C'mon, Nyx, haven't you ever wanted to do anything that didn't directly relate to the mission?"

"Counterproductive," she shrugged. "The mission is all that there is."

Flex's easy going face was troubled by her calm acceptance of Manticore's mandate. In truth it was that Nyx worried him the most out of all of his 'kids'. She was the most serious and straight-laced and had more 'Manticore' in her that any soldier he had ever seen. Even Tara and Carrot had more life-spark that she seemed to and Tara had been the consummate soldier at the start. She had joined Special Ops and Unit 8 and was confused and a little out of her depth by the easy camaraderie and love in the group. But once she had latched onto Carrot and had joined in with the easy banter and games she had been just like the rest of them and they had loved her as much as they did each other—especially Carrot. He recalled her more than once saying that something was counterproductive or ridiculous.

But Tara had had almost 20 years of indoctrination of Manticore's beliefs and ideals and Nyx had barely 16, transgenics were usually less jaded up to the age of 18. His Nyxie was old before her time and it showed in her eyes.

"Nyx?"

She looked down at him from her perch on the fence. "Yes, Sir?"

"Flex," he reminded, "Not sir. We aren't at Manticore any more, Nyx, you can do whatever you want to. It doesn't have to be productive or even smart. You can be young and stupid or just carefree."

"No," she contradicted simply. "I can't."

There was a sadness in her eyes that made him want to pull her close and hug her. So he did.

Her slight body stiffened at the unexpected intrusion and she tried to push him away. Unfortunately Flex was born with Bear DNA and hugged like one. Nyx was forced into accepting the hug and did so tentatively, her arms unsure as they touched his back.

"If you ever want to talk."

"About what?" she said, her voice muffled by his shirt.

"About anything."

Nyx pulled away and gave him the small smile that made his heart hurt for her, "Now why would I want to that?"

"Consider the offer open," he said and ruffled her hair. Her smile grew more natural and she nodded.

"Thank you."

"Hey, Flex, that's where you got to. Hey, who's this?"

Flex and Nyx turned to see one of Flex's work mates, holding two beer bottles.

"Oh hey, Danny. This is Nyx. Nyx, Danny," he introduced.

Danny looked her over, "Niece, cousin?"

"Daughter, kind of," Flex corrected.

At Danny's raised eyebrow Flex sighed.

"See, me and Skye were brought up at this orphanage in Southern Seattle…"

"So you and Flex attended the same school?" Mira Freyden asked politely, her golden locks spilling over her shoulder as she glanced to where Flex stood with his arms around Nyx.

The circle of women around Skye made her nervous in their intensity. Oh, they had been nice and polite but she was beginning to feel like she was in one long Psy-Ops test. Marcie was chatting with her like they had been old friends when Mira had waltzed over to ask who the 'hunk' was. She wasn't impressed with Skye at all or maybe it was the fact that Skye was with that hunk.

"Orphanage," Skye corrected, keeping to their cover story. "We grew up there, didn't get adopted and so we stayed on to help out when we got older. After the pulse there really wasn't much else to do anyway."

Mira smiled, "A state orphanage?

"Private."

Her eyes widened, "Oh, you poor dear."

Skye smiled blithely, "It wasn't all bad."

"Not all bad?" Danny said incredulously. "How's that? From what I've heard those places were like a slice of hell."

"More like a Dickensian nightmare," Nyx intercepted.

Danny's eyebrow's raised, "Dickensian? Damn, she's a smart cookie."

Flex choked on a laugh as Nyx remained unamused. "Well, maybe it was that bad. But we survived. Until one of the little darlings had enough and put a match to the place."

"Arson?" Mira gaped.

"He had a history of mental problems and had been told that he had to return to his abusive foster father," Skye explained. "To… Pix, it was the only way out. So he poured gasoline over the administration desk and flicked a match. The whole place went up in flames."

Flex shuddered at the thought of seeing his childhood home burning. "It was like something out of a horror movie. Kids trapped inside and sirens wailing."

Nyx shuffled closer to him.

"In the confusion we found some of our charges and left before they could reassign us to another orphanage."

"My hero," Icarus said, coming up behind him.

"Mine too!" Danny said fluttering his lashes. "Damn, Flex, you**_ are_** a damn hero. Five kids and a girl all in one shot. My hat off to ya, pal."

"They are good kids," Flex said pulling Nyx close to him.

"I should hope they are perfect darlings!" Mira said as Marcie wiped a tear.

"The poor things! Oh you poor thing!"

Skye felt uncomfortable with the stares. "Seriously it's nice now. Icarus and Nyx do a lot of the cooking and washing. Isacar helps out a lot with Zeph who has far too much energy for either me or Flex."

"And this little one?" Marcie gestured down to Galen who had a tight grip on Skye's leg looking frightened at the faces staring down at him.

"Galen hasn't said a word since the fire," Skye answered picking him up in her arms and holding him close, his tense little body relaxing somewhat as her scent penetrated.

"You know, Skye," Mrs. Sylvester looked up from her martini and fixed her with a stern yet patient look. "I understand that you haven't long been out in the world and you have undertaken a great deal upon yourself to take care of these children. But it seems to me that what they need is structure and discipline. I strongly advise you to enrol them in school."

"School." Skye's flat tone let Mrs. Sylvester know what she thought of that.

"I know the headmistress for the local school, a Madam Dervish."

"Sounds…calming."

Mrs. Sylvester let a smile slip, "She is an old bridge partner and she is definitely a calming influence on the school. She would be only too happy to enrol your charges."

"We have no form of identification," Skye adlibbed. "No birth certificates and I think most of the rest of our papers were destroyed in the fire. We escaped pretty much with the clothes on our back."

"My dear, after the pulse many papers were lost. This is no longer a problem."

Skye began to get the sinking feeling that this woman could put one over on her faster than Lydecker and Renfro together.

"Well, I uh… I need to talk over this with Flex and the Greeks."

"Greeks?"

"The kids, their names all are some derivative of Greek mythology."

"How… quaint," Mira smirked. "Did they chose their names or did you?"

"Oh, shut it, Mira," Sophie Malfoy said. She was a tall, bright woman with long soft brown hair and an enchanting smile who had taken an instant like to Skye and Flex and was trying to coax Galen to eat some cake. "Quit being a bitch for half a heartbeat, for the novelty if nothing else."

Mira flushed and stalked away and Skye exchanged a grateful but amused glance with Sophie.

"She bugs me," Sophie shrugged. "I can't quite explain why but there is something about her that always makes me want to punch her. If her Craig wasn't such friends with my Danny, I'm sure I'd just… ugh!"

Skye laughed knowing what she meant.

"There was this girl back at the orphanage called Feen, she drove me crazy. She wasn't so much a bitch but she could talk both legs off a donkey and then get him to walk afterwards. As much as I adored my friend her non-stop chatter made me want to choke her. She started dating a friend of my brother's and suddenly I'm supposed to be best friends with her. Nuh-uh."

Sophie nodded, "I understand what you mean. Does your brother know that you dislike her so much?"

The sudden thought of Steve closed up her throat, "D-did. My brother died in… in the fire."

Sophie's hand flew to her mouth, "Oh, I am so sorry! Trust me to open my mouth and put my foot in it."

"It's… okay. I'm trying to…" Skye trailed off and hugged Galen tighter to her.

Sophie looked around searching for a new topic to take the haunted look out of Skye's eyes. "You know Flex is gorgeous and all but he never would have struck me as the fatherly type if I hadn't seen him with those kids. Adorable."

Skye looked up and across the field to see her beloved Flex wrestling with Zeph and some of the other boys whilst calling something out to a bemused Nyx.

A smile made its way over her face, "He is, isn't he?"

Sophie hid her grin with her cup.

----

Cece's hands shook as she crouched by the toilet. She was scared. More scared than she remembered being before in her life.

It was one thing to be sick and back in Manticore where they had doctors who knew what transgenics were and who could help them out. It was quite another to be in the big bad world where every authority figure was a nightmare waiting to happen. Psy-Ops had nothing on what a human with a scalpel and a grudge could do.

She hadn't been feeling good since the fire but she put that down to smoke inhalation and maybe she had hit her head. But the headaches had come with a vengeance and she was wondering if her barcode had an expiry date on it.

The headaches had grown in intensity to a dervish and each day was an exercise in pain and frustration as there seemed to be no end to it. Cece woke most nights nauseated from the pain and willing to tear off her own head to stop it. Her head hurt so much that chewing was impossible and she had to abandon her idea of not telling Tara when her plates of food went uneaten.

Tara, frantic with worry, had begun to make soft foods that she could swallow without effort; soups, stews, casserole and mashed vegetables.

Her stomach had started to ache through the lack of proper food and they were all in despair.

Cece swiped a tear from her cheeks as she huddled on the cold tile floor. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right, how could she have gone through everything only to fall at the last hurdle? She couldn't die here, she just couldn't.

The bathroom door opened and Tara's head peered around the jamb.

"Hey," she said softly. "Feeling any better?"

Cece shook her head tightly, "Sick, dizzy."

Tara bit her lip and that look of concern flooded her eyes. "You'll do better off the floor."

Cece chuckled mirthlessly, "Can't move."

Tara pushed the door open and walked in. She knelt down at Cece's side and wrapped her arms under her legs and behind her head. With hardly a grunt of effort, she lifted Cece off the floor and carried her through to the bedroom and laid her on the bed.

"Heavy?" Cece muttered wearily.

"One of the perks of being a super-woman," Tara said softly as she stroked the hair off Cece's head. "Ce, do you remember if you have Shark DNA or any other animal strain?"

"Hnmmo," she whispered as quietly as she could. Tara bit her lip again and stroked her head.

Tears filled Tara's eyes as she headed to the bathroom and came back with a wet cloth. She laid it on Cece's head and pulled the waste-paper basket closer.

"Anx."

"You're welcome," Tara switched off the light and closed the door quietly behind her.

-------

* * *

Thank you all who reviewd- you keep me going.

* * *

Sigma1- That they were, Feen and Techie always make me giggle! Sorry to leave Drew's situation until next time. It'll be worth it, trust me!

Angel of Darkness231- Nah, sarcasm rarely counts. My family always say that I could get away with murder- which is great if someone has annoyed you. Plus if you think about it, all the research that I do for DA on guns, for Harry Potter on poisons and CSI on fingerprinting theoretically I'm sure I could _actually_ get away with … I'm scaring you now.

Moonlite star- More of the Greeks here, hope you liked that! Anna is more than capable of saving herself as we shall see. Hehe solve the familiar puzzle- struck me as funny.

Givenalias- Mean- yes, Genius okay then, I'll take that! Hopefully I will get to update sooner.

Natacup82- Good in a bad way or bad in a good way? Hmm, interesting. Yes it was White that got Anna ooh badbadman! And Drew should be fine with Ben… for now.

Geminangel- You do get all sorts because there are, like, ten stories going on at any one time- its crazy!

Jade-K- I think Manticore gave them more manners than to get it over their faces but I was still fun to write the BBQ. Dek and Aiden will play MUCH bigger roles- as you can tell, I adore my two guys! Sunny and Biggs will be pencilled in again soon.

Crazy-Vampireslayer- I can tell you now that some characters from this story will be making their way over to SF before long. So watch that. As for Logan bashing- hmm, I can do that!

Lynn-50670- What crazy thing am I going to do? Sellotape Pix to a chicken and… oh wait, wrong dream.

Fangedangel- this chapter was much longer for ya, how was that? Anna was moping too much to use her training!

Feenian- Okay maybe not dark so much as dramatic. Yes Drew and Ben together is gonna be a blast! Drew won't hesitate to slap him if he deserves it!

SGOU- If they can go into the jungle and come out with not only a whole new platoon but with Max and Alec talking to each other again- I think they can handle a BBQ- or not. I would love to have a Dek/ Aiden tale- wouldn't that be cool? I would never kill Anna- although I did say that about Steve and Metz. smile No Anna did seem to have things easier didn't she? Emma isn't doing so well but we have hope in the form of her two (soon three) knights in shining armour. Glad that you still love Techie and Feen- me too! Especially Techie. LOL- the two psycho's together I can't wait! As for your wish list- yes, yes, I'm confiscating your crystal ball, yes, hell yes! Yes, very well thanks, fun, uh not soon, see above. Phew, you don't want much do you?

Guest type person- Yes Emma had Shark DNA and that is part of her problem- which you will find out next chapter. If you get caught laughing, tell them that the voices in your head made a joke- that usually clears people away fast.

Ganko- I think Anna is getting more than her share of fans with this storyline- which goes to show that I have absolutely no control over my characters at all. Josh and Carrot are great together. Not feeling the love for White though!

Senorita- DHL- her ya go, pet.

Honey00- Anna has enough brass to take care of herself, I'm not planning on killing her… although that _is_ what I said about Steve and Metz… I hope you keep enjoying.

BlueJean452- Oh yeah, Drew and Ben were planned almost in MAH , I have my idea for them- it'll be fun. No P/C or D/B here but lots on the next chapter for you.

Crimsonshadoe- LOL sounds like a line from Sunset beach! Evil twins clutches! Hmm, really and what if Anna finds another interest? You don't like BJ and Jace? Why? Anna hid her "gift" from everyone back at Manticore because they didn't think of her like that. She has the ability to sense when people are near, what sex they are and how they feel- not on as big a scale as Emma but still.

Starr Light1- Here ya go, a nice BBQ and I even wrote about Coco just for you. See she had ice cream with sprinkles, syrup and no added angst.

Natasqi- I was chained to my computer but then I got hungry and had to be set free. Green peace heard about my conditions and there was a review and an inquisition- it was a big old mess. Now I have strict Geneva rules to adhere to. sigh

Erak- I did spring it on you all. Mwah ha ha Drew and Ben! Oh that'll be great- I can exercise my latent psychopathic tendencies… not that I have any you understand.

Elfie- It just happened- plus I kept getting confused between Icarus and Isacar- a nickname makes things easier. Yes I love Dek and Aiden- they are such perfect characters. Yup Ames has Anna- hah good luck Ames! Try being an introvert when dating an extrovert- poor Techie! See Drew and Ben should get along well. Crazy people and thank you for remembering the jungle- that'll come in handy. I am not sure that I have room for any more characters- we'll have to see what happens.

Mae- Sorry you had to wait, I thought I had said in authors notes. Obviously not- glad you enjoy this though. Galen was in bed with a teddy bear. Any names for the bear spring to mind?


	8. Ill met by moonlight, proud transgenics

**NOTE- I do appreciate constructive criticism and encourage you to tell me what I can be doing better. **

**However I would like to point out that; at this time I have 21 main transgenics, 5 peripheral transgenics, 9 '09ers, 2 insane military commanders, 1 dogman, 5 anomalies, 1 wheel chair bound loser and at least 5 "normal" humans to deal with. They can't all share equal screen time or each chapter would be 49 pages long with only minimal action. Those who have screen time are doing important things that need to be commented on. So if your fave characters don't show for a while, they are probably either having a pizza or having sex. **

**Would _you_ like to be interrupted?**

**As always enjoy this and sorry for the delay. **

**Dedicated to SGOU.

* * *

**

**Chapter 8 – Ill met by moonlight, proud transgenics. **

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No… Are we there yet?"

"What are you… five?"

Pix laughed and hugged Chance closer to him as the cart trundled over the uneven road. They had hitched a lift on a truck headed back towards Seattle and it wasn't exactly noted for its comfort.

Chance snuggled closer to him, glad that they had decided to come this way again. The closer she got to home, the better she was feeling.

She had been unbearable to poor Pix for weeks and now that they were almost home it was a wonderful feeling of peace and calm that had overtaken her.

"Hey, angel," Pix soothed. "You doing okay?"

"Uh huh," she grinned up at him, feeling lighter than she had in ages. "My head aches less too."

"Good, because I was starting to think that there was something wrong with me—all the times that you put me off," he mimicked her voice. "Not tonight Pix, I have a headache. Not good for a man's self esteem you know."

Chance giggled, "You need your ego stroking the least of any man I know."

"It's not my ego I was worried about."

Chance broke into giggles again at his mutinous tone. "Sorry, baby, I swear I'll make it up to you."

"Oh, goodie!" his eyes lit up in the way they usually did when he had some mischief planned.

"Pix, what are our plans once we reach Seattle?" she bit her lip and pulled her hair down to cover her face.

"Well," he tucked her hair behind her ear, "a place to stay is first on the list followed by food and then I guess we start a search pattern."

Chance nodded, "See this is why I ran away with you. You're smart."

He looked askance at her, "You stroking my ego?"

She bit her lip mischievously, "Yup."

He nodded in satisfaction, "Carry on then."

Her eyes flickered and a groan left her lips as bright white light penetrated her eyelids.

"Where am I?" she thought a second and added, "_This_ time."

"Well done, consciousness to sarcasm in under 60 seconds. I'm impressed."

Drew's eyes snapped open to see a grinning face staring down at her. She shot up and her hand went to her head as she waited for the world to stop spinning.

"Ooh, moving- bad idea," she hissed.

"I could have told you that."

Drew opened one eye and fixed the familiar face with a half-hearted glare.

He cleared his throat and looked slightly sheepish, "Yeah, okay. Uh, how do you feel?"

"Stop the world I want to get off," she muttered. "Dizzy, nauseous and," she glanced at him, "more than a little creeped out."

Ben smiled, "Well, I'm no Brad Pitt but I didn't think I was scary enough for women to faint at my feet. Although that could be my animal magnetism."

The grin that he shot her was pure Alec and made her heart give an uncomfortable lurch. Damn, he was so like her former CO and friend that it was unnerving.

"Brad who? Sorry," Drew gingerly sat up again. "How long have I been out?"

"About eight hours," he replied. "It was causing something of a scene to have an unconscious girl at my feet in the market so I brought you back to my place."

"Your place?" Drew looked around.

Ben's place was a small apartment about ten storeys up. The rooms were small and dark but he had added homey touches so it didn't look as dismal as it could have done. The room that Drew was in was a second bedroom and, aside from the collection of mugs on the dresser, looked just as impersonal as a motel room.

"Nice," she said weakly. "I really should be going."

"Going?" Ben chuckled, "Now just wait a minute, sweetheart, you run over to me, hug me and then faint on me and I don't even get a name?"

"I told you my name," she said remembering. "Drew."

"Drew what?"

"Just Drew," she edged to the end of the bed. "And I so have to go, thanks for the bed rest."

He put up his hand in protest, "Whoa, wait up, Drew. You cracked your head pretty bad and, to be honest, you didn't look stellar in the first place. Now I can see that you've been hurt. Don't cha think you should take it easy for a while?"

Drew looked at the concern on his face and her mind was cast back to one of the first days as Special Ops when she had fallen over in the obstacle course whilst trying to get ahead of Alec. He had slipped over her and then knelt by her side giving her the same look of concern and sympathy mixed with humour. It was unnerving to see it on this guy.

"I was in a fire, I got hurt."

"How bad," his eyes darkened. "Do you need medical attention? There are hospitals around—"

"NO!" Drew all but shouted, thinking of what could happen to her if the authorities found out who she was. At Ben's raised eyebrow she calmed slightly. "I don't like hospitals."

He grinned, "Me neither. Where are you staying in town? I could give you a ride."

Drew bit her lip, "I don't actually have anywhere just yet, but I was looking."

"Well, since I abducted you off the streets, how about you stay here tonight and look for somewhere tomorrow? If nothing else it'll give you time to rest. Plus, you know that since I didn't take advantage of you while you were unconscious you can pretty much trust me."

Drew let loose a grin, "I can hold my own."

"Against me?" Ben grinned thinking of his transgenic strength. "I don't think so."

"You'd be surprised."

"I would?"

Drew wondered for a moment whether or not to tell him but his arrogance grated and she gave in to the temptation. "You know you're not the only transgenic in town, _Ben_."

Ben's eyes widened and then narrowed as he slid off the bed, "What?"

"X5- 633, at your service," she bowed her head and let her smirk come to the fore. "And you, X5- 493, also known as Ben, are not as charming as you think."

Ben's eyes glittered in reluctant humour as he folded his arms over his chest, "Well, X5-633, also known as Drew, I'd like to see some I.D before I believe that you are who you say you are."

Knowing what he wanted Drew shook her head, "I wasn't spliced yesterday, Casanova, I turn my back on no-one."

He glared and the smirked, "But you seem to have no compunction about fainting on strange guys?"

It was her turn to glare, "You happen to be the clone of a dear friend. I thought you were he."

"Twin."

"What?"

"Twin, not clone."

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I have an elsewhere to be."

Her arm was suddenly held in a vice-like grip and she looked up again into his eyes, curiously and mysteriously masked.

"I think not."

Drew took a breath and slid to the floor, the weight making his grip loosen and he staggered off balance. She then pulled back her leg and slammed it into his knee.

With a painful grunt Ben stumbled over her body and landed behind her in a tangle of limbs.

Drew dragged herself to her feet and made to leave but before she could take a step Ben's legs came round in an arch and scissored around her legs causing her to fall back to the ground again.

Her still tender side impacted with the carpet and long drawn-out hiss escaped her lips. "Shhh-it."

Ben rolled over her, his eyes firm as they looked down at her.

"Are you okay?"

"No," she bit out, her hand holding her aching ribs.

"Let me see," he said as he grabbed her hand.

"Get off, you don't get to touch," she snapped and he smiled.

"I'll take you to dinner afterwards and still respect you in the morning, I promise."

Despite herself her lips twitched, "Jerk."

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard worse." He tugged at her shirt, pulling it up to reveal her black and blue rib cage. He hissed in sympathy.

"How the hell did you do that? Did you go one on one with a cruise jet missile?" his hands felt cool as they traced the bruising on her side. Drew pulled away not relishing the tingle in her stomach.

"No," she replied with her usual iciness, "half of Manticore fell on me when the damn thing exploded."

"Huh, well, you're healing nicely. Could do with bed rest and… burritos?"

As he got to his feet she pulled her shirt down and stared after him. She got to her feet and followed him into the kitchen.

"Ben?"

He turned, "Yeah?"

"Huh. Just 'huh'. I tell you that Manticore is gone and you say 'huh'?"

He gave her a lop-sided grin, "Well, yeah, sweetheart, I already knew. Who do you think set the damn thing on fire?"

Her mouth dropped as he searched the kitchen cupboards. After a few seconds of silence he half-turned to see her still staring at him.

"What?"

"_You_ set the fire?"

He shrugged, "Not alone, but yeah."

"The fire that ripped through my home, killing my family."

"Manticore wasn't your family, Drew."

A sneer made its way onto her face and her eyebrow rose high enough to touch her hairline. "I didn't think you hate your sister so much. Oh, wait, as a part of Manticore, **_Max_** obviously wasn't your family." She turned on her heel and stalked towards the door, her boot heels clicking in time to her pure fury.

"Wait, what? Drew!" Ben was suddenly in front of her. "You know Max?"

She gritted her teeth, "What does it matter? Thanks to your little pyrotechnic display she could be dead."

His head shook, "Not my Maxie."

"That Maxie was my best friend. My family. You torched the place and watched it burn without helping us out. You could be her murderer."

"Max isn't dead."

"How do you know that?"

Ben raked a hand through his hair, "I just do."

"Wrong answer!" she snapped. "Max could be dead, just like Dek and Aiden and Alec and… and B.J. and Mets and Chance and… and—" she broke off with tears streaming down her face.

Ben looked horrified for a moment and took a step closer. Drew struck out at him, catching him a blow across the chest.

Ben grabbed her arm and tugged her into his body, shielding himself whilst comforting her.

"Hey, shhh, I'm sorry, Drew. It was a mistake."

"Mis-take?" she whispered.

"We only went in to rescue Max. We were going to set off an explosion in the DNA lab and get her out under the cover of confusion. But Manticore has a… what did he call it… uh, scorched earth policy?"

Drew sniffed, "Plausible deniability. If they think we are at risk of exposure then they torch the place to deny its existence."

"In the news it was a terrorist attack on a VA hospital."

A snorted laugh made its way through her lips and Ben's twitched. "You know that was remarkably unladylike."

"Umffee."

"What?" he moved her away from his chest slightly.

"Bite me," she said clearly.

"I told you I'd be a perfect gentleman but, if you insist."

Drew pulled away and scowled at him, "You know Max never mentioned what a complete ass you are."

"What did she say about me?" he asked, his eyes glinting.

She smiled sweetly, "Nothing a lady would repeat."

At his laughter she looked towards the window seeing the day draw away. "I really have to go."

"Drew, listen, I was serious about you staying here tonight. Even more so now that I know you were Max's friend. She'll kick my ass if she finds out I let you go when you were hurt and I have a perfectly serviceable spare room."

Drew bit her lip thinking about his offer. It was tempting to just head back down the hall and fall onto that bed. She was beyond bone tired and knew that seeking out shelter for the night would result in more pain and probably lead to her sleeping in a dumpster or something. Ben was perfectly willing to share; he knew who she was so there was no awkward hiding of the barcode or holding back her strength.

For now it was the perfect solution. Plus she could always give Max news of her brother when she finally found her. Max had always spoken of her Ben like he was the love of her life.

She eyed the man as he slouched against the counter, taking in his appearance for the first time. He was wearing denim jeans and a red checked flannel shirt with the sleeves folded up to his elbows showing the dusting of light hair over his strong forearms. He was much cuter than Ed had been and she could do with looking at that over the breakfast table.

"Can you cook?"

Ben grinned, "For you, darlin', of course."

To her credit there was very little that Anna was actually afraid of; Drew notwithstanding. Through her life she had scraped by unheeded by most and unnoticed by the higher powers which suited her fine. As long as she kept her head down and tried her best she was left to her own devices and had avoided most of the situations that sparked fear into her fellow transgenics.

Unfortunately, that made the indignity of being strapped down in a van and being moved to a location to be let loose and poisoned all the more daunting and, to be honest, annoying.

Anna was annoyed.

Agent Ames White had her tied to a medieval torture device, placed in a decrepit van with his blundering side-kicks and trundled halfway across the state. And he hadn't even had the decency to remain in the same vehicle so she could kick his ass for it.

The two men with her were staring stalwartly out of the window and hadn't noticed her hands frantically twisting themselves into knots. Using a trick that Steve had taught her many years ago; she yanked on the ropes and dislocated her thumb. Then, ignoring the pain, she pushed it out of its joint and placed it flat against her palm so that she could slip her much slenderer hand through the hoops.

Now she had her hands free, it was only a matter of time before she could escape and… and, do what?

Anna sagged back against the metal frame earning herself a cursory glare by one of the men to which she stuck put her tongue in disgust. It was childish but made her feel so much better for it.

The van jerked as they hit another pot hole and Anna tapped her fingers against her restraints as she tried to come up with a plan. If only these guys would talk or something.

"Excuse me?" she said, "Don't you know that its part of the evil villain code to chat. You know unveil your evil master plan and all?"

Silence.

"You never heard of that, huh? Okay, well how about just chit-chat. What did you do on your holidays?"

Silence.

Anna glared at them as she tried to work her feet free. This wasn't helping, she needed something that would distract them.

Unbidden, an old memory worked it way into her mind.

She had been talking to Steve and Skye for an hour in the back of one of the mini-vans. If she remembered rightly, she hadn't been saying much of anything, but there was a lot of it. She'd been bored because Feen was off terrorising Techie and Feen was usually the only one to have much to do with her. She'd started off with a little speech about men-training and then dissected the Trainers personal lives, followed by a soliloquy on the workings of her chair. It had taken a whole hour but Skye had finally cracked.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Anna had blinked, "Excuse me?"

"How the hell can you just sit there and talk crap for a whole hour without taking a breath?" Skye's eyes were scarily wide and white.

Steve looked up, taking his fingers out of his ears, "She done?"

"Yes, done!" Skye pulled at her hair. "We are supposed to be on the watch for enemy troops or, god, something! All I wanna do is invite them in to kill you!"

Anna grinned, "Oh really?"

"Yes!" Skye screeched. "Do you have any idea how annoying you are?"

Anna inclined her head, "I dunno."

"A saint would massacre a bus load of newly baptised babies just to shut you up!"

Anna perked up, "Really?"

"Arrgh!"

Steve had attempted to soothe his sister whilst smiling at Anna who had been pleased with herself at the praise.

"You are enough to try the patience of a saint, Anna. If there is one thing you do well, its piss people off!"

Anna grinned, she had always been told to play to her strengths and, well, that could come in handy.

"So, you guys know any camping songs?"

Zan blinked blearily at B.J. who seemed to be a few inches shy of bouncing off the walls.

"C'mon, lazy ass. Today's the day that Zack arrives."

Zan lifted his coffee to his mouth and ignored his friend.

"Zan?"

He wouldn't be swayed by the annoying young man; he wouldn't rise to his totally unnatural exuberance at this time in the morning and he wouldn't smack him in the mouth either.

"Zaaaaan!"

At least not hard.

"O'way," he muttered, "Uckin'sadiss."

B.J. chuckled, "Damn, you are about as much of a morning person as Mets was," he sighed. "I bet he's having a blast."

Zan glared at him, "Mets is probably in bed with three blondes, a redhead and a goat, not up at this ungodly hour and well done to him."

B.J. blinked, "A goat?"

Zan waved his hand dismissively, "Not important."

"Well, it might be to the goat."

Zan glared at him, "Do you have any idea what the time is?"

"O-Eight thirty."

"Why am I up?"

"Because today we see if Max's dear brother Zack is one and the same as Jace's dear friend Zack and, if he is, then we know that Jace's Zack is Max's Zack and Zack is Max's Zack—it's all very simple."

It was Zan's turn to blink, "I hate you."

B.J. beamed, "Great, can we go?"

Zan stumbled to his feet, showing off his great feline grace and slapped B.J upside the head before they left the house.

As the door shut B.J. sighed, "Maybe its time to switch to decaf?"

Pix and Chance had hidden under the carriage of the truck when it stopped at the rest room on the interstate and waited until it pulled away before they started to make their way back down the road.

The truck had been heading away from Seattle and the one place that they wanted to go and so they had decided to ditch the truck and walk most of the rest of the way. That is, unless they could find a ride.

Not that either of them minded the long walk, after being cramped up inside the tight truck it was a relief to be able to stretch their legs.

Pix tucked Chance's hand in his own and swung it as they sauntered along the road.

"Do you think that everyone is looking for us?" Chance asked quietly letting him know where her thoughts were.

"Biggs probably wants my head on a pole!" Pix said cheerfully suddenly thinking of the overprotective brother of his girlfriend and his mad rages whenever he had tried to do anything with her.

Chance chuckled as they made their way down the road, "I won't let him," she comforted, "I've grown kinda attached to your head."

"Me too," Pix sighed. "It is a good head."

Chance couldn't hold back her giggles at the inappropriate conversation.

"You're crazy, you do know that right?"

"Of course," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

She was about to carry on when they both heard the squeal of tires up ahead. A grey transit van hurtled around the corner and was veering all over the road in front of them.

The tires squealed as the van lurched to the left and then over to the right side of the road, bearing towards them.

Pix grabbed Chance and pulled her out of the road and onto the grass verge on the side, safely away from the maniac driver who seemed to have lost all control of the vehicle.

As they rolled onto the grass there was an almighty crunch of metal and the back doors were torn open by a body being forcibly expelled from the back.

Pix and Chance watched in shock as an unconscious male body landed five feet away from them, his face battered and bloody.

There was the sound of flesh on flesh and a grunt before silence emerged from the back of the van broken by a pungent exclamation.

"Arrogant, tight-assed son of a BITCH!"

Pix frowned, "I know that voice."

"It just sounds annoyed," Chance said doubtfully.

Footsteps slammed on the floor of the van and then two feet dropped to the pavement. Two feet that held up an irate and battered Anna.

"See, I told you I knew that voice," Pix said pleased as he hauled Chance to her feet.

"Dumb-ass, jerk-off, schmuck witted—" Anna glanced up, tensing at the intrusion and then relaxed as she saw who it was.

"Ill met by moonlight, proud…Anna," Pix said with a smile.

She looked down, "Is he dead?"

Pix looked at the man beneath his feet, "I don't think so."

"Kill him."

Pix knelt down and snapped his neck with little effort, "Why?"

She put one hand on her hip, "PMS."

Pix shrugged, "Good enough reason for me."

"Anna!" Chance greeted finally and hugged the dark haired transgenic. "How are you?"

"Tired, hurt, and pissed off beyond belief, but better for seeing you."

Anna had always gotten along with the shy girl, as much as she had gotten along with anyone, and she was genuinely pleased to see Chance.

Pix reached over and shook her hand, "Good to see you again, Anna."

Anna half-grinned at him, "Oddly enough, you too. Been getting up to mischief?"

"Always. Although gluing saucepans to the ceiling is something that shouldn't be repeated. You too, it seems," Pix said looking around at the carnage.

"New bad guy in town goes by the name of Agent Ames White. I think he's CIA or NSA or something, but whoever he is, he is a scary character. He took me down with one blow and these guys that he has are too tough for human and yet no barcode."

Pix looked thoughtful, "Manticore side-project maybe?"

"He called me transgenic-scum; he knows us and our weaknesses, so maybe a disgruntled ex-employee gone rogue."

"What did he want with you?" Chance asked the important question.

"As far as I can tell, I was his test subject for some sort of target virus that would eradicate certain groups by targeting specific strands of DNA." Anna pushed her hair back over her shoulder and bit her lip as Pix made the connection.

"A transgenic tracking device?"

"Over a certain area, yeah. It would find, seek and destroy," Anna acknowledged.

"Well, we have to stop that!" Chance exclaimed.

"Since his test subject has escaped, hopefully that will set it back somewhat but this is a bitch of a plan."

Pix nodded. "Do you know where any of the others are?"

"I escaped with Feen and Techie."

"Feen!" Chance's eyes lit up. "Where are they?"

"There's a dump heap right in the middle of Seattle called Terminal City, quite possibly the most depressing hole outside of Solitary confinement… and about as interesting," Anna said. "They are currently there along with most of the freak, geek and loser squad that escaped the basement. Not many Xs though and none of our guys."

"Damn, no Biggs," Pix said and then considered. "But on the other hand, hey, no Biggs!"

Chance hauled back and slapped his arm, "Jerk! That's my brother you're talking about."

"Yes, and the less we see him, the less chance he has to pull out my entrails and wear them as a hat."

Even Anna found that amusing.

"So looks like we have ourselves some company back to Seattle," Pix said with a grin.

Anna looked down at the body by their feet. "Sorry, Pix, but no."

Chance blinked at her in surprise, "But Anna!"

"I will not go back to Terminal dump heap and besides, I want to check out this White scum bag, my senses tell me that he is somehow linked to Manticore and I wanna know how."

"What's so bad about Terminal City?"

Anna swallowed at Pix's question and glanced at Chance before taking Pix by the elbow and leading him away.

Bemused, Pix stared at her, "What is it, Anna?"

"There are no Special Ops in TC, Pix, and they wanted me to lead. Before you take Chance there maybe you'd better think on that. They'll want you, as reigning S.O, to lead them."

The very idea filled Pix with horror. "Me?" he squeaked. "Me lead, are you kidding?"

Anna shrugged, "Is it any more plausible than me leading?"

Pix slammed his mouth shut. Anna leading people? Real people? Okay, so she had made it into Special Ops but that was more to do with her tenacity rather than her people skills. Much like him.

Could he do that? Could he go into a place and take command?

No, that was for the Maxes and Zans of the world. Pix was the mischief maker and joker, he could no more lead than he could fly.

"See," Anna said with a smirk. "You know what I mean. No escape. So I'm not going back. I'm gonna try to work things through from this end and see where I get to. Something tells me that this Ames White guy knows more than he should and that leads me back to someone from Manticore tipping him off. I wanna know who."

Pix nodded slowly, "Well, you know where we are if you need to find us."

Anna turned back to a curious Chance who, with transgenic hearing, had heard every word Anna said anyway.

"You leaving?"

"Hell, yeah," Anna rolled her eyes. "I can't stand any more of Feen's Techie-baiting."

Chance giggled, "I can't wait to see of she still makes him do girl-talk!"

Anna hugged Chance and shook Pix's hand as she walked over to the truck and pulled out the two dead bodies. She clambered into the driver's seat and slammed the door shut before firing up the engine.

"Good luck!" Pix yelled. "Oh and, Anna?"

"Yeah?"

"Try stay in touch somehow, okay? B.J. will kick my ass if I let you go off to die."

A sweet smile crossed Anna's face at the genuine concern in Pix's voice.

"Consider it a deal. One more thing?"

"Yeah?" Chance said as she reached for Pix's hand.

"If I were you," Anna pointed at Chance and then at Pix, "I'd keep _him_ away from Mole. Consider it a friendly warning."

And with that Anna roared out of their lives as quickly as she had come in.

Chance turned to her mate with a questioning look in her eye. "Why do I have to keep you away from moles?"

When B.J. and Zan arrived at the recruiting office it was empty of his boss and any other relation.

B.J. sighed heavily, "Well, maybe she went to meet him someplace else."

"Maybe," Zan agreed, his eyes flitting over the various surfaces and their paraphernalia.

B.J slumped into his chair and peered over the work that Jace had left for him to do. Inventories, AWOL notices, recruitment details and other administrative duties. If he put his mind to it, it would take less than twenty minutes.

Zan perched on the edge of his desk and smirked, "So this is what you do all day?"

"No, I file my nails too," B.J said sarcastically. "Work is what I do when I'm bored."

Zan grinned. "Here I thought you'd look so cute with pink nails."

B.J. gave him the one-finger salute and then grew serious, "Can you really remember what the '09ers look like? I mean it has been about ten years."

Zan thought carefully about that. "Well, I remember what they looked like back then and their mannerisms. Besides I… looked up to 599. He was a role model of sorts."

"Uh huh," B.J. looked at him suspiciously. Before he could say what was on his mind the bell above the door rang and his boss walked in, glancing over her shoulder as she came inside.

She did a double-take when she saw that B.J. wasn't alone and a stern smile came to her lips.

"Can I help you? Are you here to recruit?"

"No," B.J. added quickly. "He's my friend; he came to take me to lunch."

Zan gave him a look, "But you're paying."

B.J. scowled, "Tight ass, cheap skate."

Jace looked from one to the other and nodded, "Well, you can go for lunch now if you want."

The bell rang behind her and the door opened again.

"Jace, get your butt outta the doorway," said a strong masculine voice and a tall broad shouldered blond pushed her out of the way as he carried a huge box into the room.

He side-stepped Zan and put the box on the desk, "Thanks for helping!" he said sarcastically to the dark girl.

She scowled at him. "What, the big strong man can't handle a few bits of paper?"

He scowled at her and then turned to the other two men in the room.

Jace folded her arms, "This is my secretary, B.J., and his friend?"

"Hi," B.J. reached over to shake the tall blond man's hand ignoring the other part of Jace's introduction.

Zan stared at the man as he turned back to him. He knew this man. He knew he did. It was like seeing a young cousin all grown up. He had known the instant that he walked into the room with his light blond hair falling into his eyes and his chiselled jaw taught with the ever present tension.

He had icy blue eyes watch him and he cleared his throat, "Hi, I'm Zan."

"Nice to meet you."

Both B.J. and Zan noticed that the stranger hadn't been introduced by name.

"Zan?" Jace said into the sudden quiet. "Is that short for Alexander?"

"Nah," Zan smirked suddenly feeling mischief worthy of Pix. "Max said I reminded her of her brothers so she named me after Zack and Zane. Zan."

The effect of those words had the whole room frozen.

"And you tell me I lack tact!" B.J. exploded.

"Well, at least it wasn't 'hey my favourite number is 09, what's yours?'"

B.J. laughed, "Oh, c'mon what was wrong with that?"

"Sounds like a bad pick up line!"

"Oh and, 'sweet barcode dude, they get that off a cereal box?' was better?"

Zan started to laugh only to catch Zack's eye as he leaned against the table with his arms folded. "Sorry," he muttered. "Inappropriate humour."

"I would say it was more the timing," Zack said with a hard glint in his eye. "Do I know you?"

"X5- 219, I was with you in Wyoming," Zan explained.

"I wasn't," B.J. added randomly. "I was a sweet Atlanta baby."

Zack ran a finger over his lips as he regarded Zan, "219. I sparred with you in the field once. Almost beat me. As I remember you had a hell of a right swing."

Zan flushed in pleasure, "Still do."

"Sweet," B.J. examined his nails. "Zan's got a cru-sh!"

Zack flipped a thumb over his shoulder, "Is he always this annoying?"

"Yes," Zan and Jace said simultaneously.

"But you love me anyway," B.J. winked at Jace and Zack was shocked to see his austere sister redden.

Zack's eyebrow rose, _so that was the way it was then._

"You do know that B.J. doesn't stand for William James, right?" Zan said with a smirk.

B.J. sat up straight, "Okay, so how are you these days, Zack?"

Jace folded her arms and looked intently at B.J., "So what does B.J. stand for then?"

"Nothing!" B.J. glared at Zan who just beamed.

"Oh c'mon, Big Jerk," Zan teased, "It's not a bad nick-name."

Zack's lips twitched, "Big Jerk?"

"Uh huh," Jace bit back her own grin. "Well, whoever named you that knew you well, didn't they?"

"Hey!" B.J. said indignantly. "I'm not that bad anymore."

"You mean you used to be worse?" Zack asked interestedly.

"Oh shut up," B.J. said annoyed at the amusement of the other people in the room.

"So, anyway. How did you find us and what do you want with us?" Jace asked.

B.J. shrugged still annoyed, "We don't want anything. My coming to work here was simple coincidence. I had no idea you were transgenic until I heard you talking on the phone to Zack. I remembered Max talking about her family way back when and she mentioned Zack and Jace. Odds on two linked names like 'Zack' and 'Jace' being commonplace? Slim to none."

"Well done, Sherlock," Zack said coolly. "Now tell me about Max."

"Short girl, about yay high," B.J. held up his hand to his shoulder level, "Sweet, bad temper. Kicks ass."

"Mean right hook," said Zan

"Left hook," added B.J., "Left foot, right foot. In fact, she's just plain mean. I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of her, would you Zan?"

Zan bit back a smile at Zack's obvious infuriation. "Nope, scares me."

Zack pulled off his leather jacket and glared at the boys "Can you be serious for one minute?"

B.J. pretended to consider it, "Uh, I don't _think_ so. Zan?"

Zan shrugged, "Why are you asking me?"

Jace looked away from her brother's mounting temper. She couldn't believe these two. They didn't act like they were from Manticore. She would have expected that with ten years extra training they would be much more like her and Zack rather than Ash and Krit; much more serious and soldierly.

B.J. was nothing like that. He was funny and made her laugh. He didn't insist on his desk being militaristically neat or try to sit ram rod straight. He was relaxed and composed, whilst having the vulnerability that came from having your thoughts constantly under bombardment from your superiors.

She also couldn't believe that she had another transgenic sitting in her office for the better part of a month and she hadn't known about it. She had just thought that he was a rather sweet young man despite his sarcastic rejoinders, which she actually found amusing. She could kick herself for not picking up on the cues earlier.

"Hello!" Zack interrupted her thoughts. "Do you know where Max is now?"

"Probably with Alec," Zan shrugged. "Sorry, man, she didn't escape with us."

"Damn," Zack sagged against the desk again and Jace felt bad for him.

Zack had always been the one that was closest to Max, with the exception of Ben, and he had taken her supposed death very hard. When Ben had told them that she was actually alive and that they had left her alone and trapped for the better part of ten years it had been the first time in a long time that she had seen that light in his eyes. It was a light that only Max had ever been able to bring out in him and it had caused an ache within Jace as her idol was more excited about his dead sister than the one who was alive and who adored him.

Maybe that day was the day that she had started to let Zack go. She had held him up as her hero since the day back in Manticore that he had convinced her to go with them and escape rather than be left behind. To her he had been a saviour, a hero and role model. But to him she was just another sibling.

Max was his baby.

"Hey, I'm sure we'll find her," she said and was gifted with one of Zack's rare smiles.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Sure we will."

"She won't let her unit down," Zan added. "She'll probably find a way to make contact with us all soon. I hope it is soon because… shit!"

They all looked at him as he stood up abruptly and raked a hand through his hair.

"Zan?"

"Emma!" he explained and B.J. nodded.

"You best get back."

"Who's Emma?" Jace asked.

Zan sighed in frustration, "She's another one of our unit who escaped with us but something is wrong with her. She's empathetic and is slipping further and further into a coma. I don't know how long she'll last."

Zack stood up, "Does she have Shark DNA?"

Zan exchanged glances with B.J. "Uh yeah, I think so. She never used to sleep much."

"Jondy was the same when we came outta Manticore," Zack said as he grabbed his jacket. "Maybe I can help."

"Then let's go." Zan raced out of the office leaving B.J. and Jace staring after the two blond men.

B.J. was the first to speak, "So, coffee?"

"Dek?"

"What?"

Aiden poked his head around the door and smirked at the picture his friend made. Dek was sitting in the kitchen by the desk with papers spread all around, a pen tucked behind his ear and his brow furrowed in concentration. He looked almost, intellectual. It was a far cry from the leather-clad bad boy image that he usually portrayed.

"Aww, don't you look cute all mussed up like that?" Aiden cooed, "Just add glasses and we have a certified geek!"

"You aren't my type," Dek said distractedly. "You are too dumb and don't have the right equipment."

Aiden laughed and then pouted, "Aw, Dek you've broken my heart."

Dek gave him the one-finger salute and then grinned, "A ha!"

"Ooh, did we find out where to check next or have we uncovered a new heist?"

"The plans for that warehouse came through and I have a buyer ready for the merchandise already. All I needed was to find a safe access route which I have done. What's all this _we_ stuff anyway? I was hard at work whilst you were…. What were you doing?"

"Phone," Aiden said coming to sit on the desk. "You know that painting we 'borrowed' to give to those wacko's that kept talking about defenestration?"

Dek looked up interest, "The Rockwell?"

"Yeah, well it hasn't arrived yet."

"No way!" Dek groaned. "I sent it by courier."

Aiden spread his hands, "Obviously not a worthy one."

"Shit!"

Dek hadn't wanted to pass the sector check-points with a hot painting on his hands and so he had enlisted the services of one of the cities courier services. It seemed like he had picked the wrong one.

He stood up and pulled his jacket from the back of the chair.

"Dek?"

"I'm going over to the courier place to see if I can find this damn painting," Dek snarled. "I will not have our business called into question because some pansy assed courier couldn't cough up in time."

Aiden looked down at the papers covering the desk, "Well, have fun, dear."

Dek's lips twitched, "Smartass, just look over those blueprints, would ya?"

As he went to leave he turned back and smirked, "And I want my dinner on the table when I get back, d'ya hear?"

The door closed before Aiden's shoe could hit it.

Icarus collapsed onto her bed in giggles, "Then Jackie said that Marcie was always that way."

"That so?" Flex bit back a grin as he pulled the covers over her.

"Uh huh, and Missy said that once we're established she'll take me into the town and show me the sights. That will be so great, won't it?"

"That it will," Flex ruffled her hair. "Now when you've climbed down from the ceiling, how about you get some shut eye?"

Icarus looked towards the window, "Oh, its way past lights-out. I should have bunked down ages—" She suddenly stopped herself and a shadow flickered over her eyes before she replaced it with a not-so-convincing beaming smile. "Night."

Flex sighed and sat on the edge of her bed, "Cari?"

"Hmm?" she looked down and bit her lip.

Flex cupped her soft flaxen hair and smiled gently. "We will have flashbacks; it's all okay, you know."

"I know," she smiled. "I feel much safer with you here, you know? It's like having family… proper family. Like you see on the television."

"Well, I hope so. It feels that way for us too," he said softly and patted her head. "Sleep tight, Cari." He switched off the light and walked down the hall peering into the other rooms. Skye was tucking an already sleeping Zephyr into his bed and kissing his unruly hair.

Flex walked down the hall and peeked into the other room to see Isacar sitting in bed with books strewn all over his bed and floor.

"Hey, pal, you are going to clear up those books in the morning right?"

"Uh huh," Isacar didn't look up from his book, his blond hair falling into his eyes.

"Isacar?"

Isacar glanced up, "Did you know that the origin of the word Poltergeist comes form the German Polter to mean noise and Geist which means spirit?"

"No I didn't know that," Flex grinned. "I thought you'd be tired from all that physical exertion."

"Oh, man, they want me to join their team!" Isacar said plaintively. "Just what I always wanted, to be a jock."

Flex laughed outright, "And here I thought that you loved all that pointless running around."

Isacar scowled at him, "Whilst physical exercise has its place to develop healthy minds and bodies, running around a field with a pigs bladder tucked under your arm is hardly conductive to restful contemplation. Did you know that the term Hooligan is taken from a 19th century Irish family of that name who delighted in chaos and disorder?"

Realising that Isacar was about to go off into another spiel Flex just nodded, "Did you know that I'm switching the light off now?"

Isacar rolled his eyes and closed his book, "Yes, sir!"

"Night, bookworm."

He closed the door and leaned on it. He waited, counting twenty seconds before opening it in time to see Isacar flicking on a torch. "**_Good night,_** Isacar!"

Isacar had the grace to look sheepish as he handed the torch over to Flex. "Right," he said and snuggled under his blanket.

Flex closed the door for a second time and chuckled to himself.

Skye watched him, "Did he have another torch?"

"Uh huh," he handed over the confiscated item and they shared a smile.

"Galen?"

"I read him a story and he's in his own bed for now," she shrugged ruefully. "I think the day was a bit too much for him. Too many people and too much noise."

He knew that she was worried about the youngest of their charges and the fact that he hadn't spoken so much as a word for months.

"We are settled now," he comforted. "We can both spend time with him."

Flex leaned over and planted a kiss on her lips. Skye looked relieved at that. "You coming to bed?" she asked, her voice husky.

"Mm, in a bit, I'm gonna see if Nyx is okay."

She giggled, "Flex the dad. Who knew?"

He sighed, "What ever happened to the ladies man, the hunk, the stud?"

"Well, I'll be waiting for him when he's done with the kids," she kissed his jaw and slunk down the hall to their bedroom.

He watched her hips sway appreciatively and then started down the stairs. He glanced around the darkened ground floor for his oldest charge and spotted a movement on the front porch.

He pushed open the screen door and stepped onto the rickety wooden porch. "Nyx?"

"Hmm," she murmured. She was sitting on the porch step with her knees drawn up against her chest and her back braced against the banister. She looked so much younger than her sixteen years sitting there with her dark eyes staring out towards the forest.

"You okay, sweetheart?"

She nodded silently and tucked her arms further around her knees, "Just thinking."

"Deep thoughts?"

"Yeah," she sighed.

Flex considered her for a moment and then sat down behind her and pulled her back so that he was sitting with her between his legs, her back resting against his chest and his arms around her middle. He rested his chin against her soft black hair.

"Wanna tell me about it?"

There was silence for a long moment and he thought that she wasn't going to answer him until she said quietly, "Things were very… grey back at Manticore. Grey, dull and lifeless. You didn't really live, you existed and you did as you were told because you were told to do it. No one ever knew anything different until we started to go on missions and read human books and we started to figure out that the guy that does the killing is always the one that gets the comeuppance. To them that's the bad guy. We are the bad guys. The grey starts to slip away and suddenly the world has shades of grey. Before you know it, you're thinking about these shades and there is a hole inside of you that doesn't quite understand but knows that something isn't right."

"Max used to call it a conscience," Flex said softly.

"Conscience," she repeated and then continued. "But you carry on, because what else is there, right? But coming out into the world…," she trailed off. "The world has not just shades of grey but reds and greens and blues. The world is all colour and so bright that it stings. It's overwhelming and incomprehensible, loud, destructive and disturbing. It makes no sense and takes no prisoners and it's relentless. I can't understand it and it won't stop and it won't go away and it hurts, Flex, it hurts." To his horror he could feel little shudders from her slight body as if she was holding back tears.

Flex held her tightly and rocked her backwards and forwards trying to offer comfort that he really didn't know how to give. He understood her completely. To someone who had lived their life in a cage the real world was horrifically real and painful and living with what you had done with the real-worlds morality pressing on you was nothing short of agonising.

It had been a blow to Flex when he had stepped into the world and found out that what was commonplace to him was seen as disturbing and evil to humans.

He stroked her long black hair as he thought of what to say, "I have no words to take away all that pain, Nyx. But I can tell you this; Manticore was hell—no, it was war. You are a survivor of war and every survivor has war wounds. You, me, Skye, even little Galen, we are all wounded in some way or other and that makes us different from humans. Humans understand what they can see and distrust what they can't. They will never understand that we did what we had to do because they weren't there and they can't see the visible signs of what we had to go through just to survive. Our scars are more invisible than what they could deal with."

"Scars?" she sniffed.

"Psy-Ops, killing, assault, solitary, all scars, Nyxie." He paused. "The world is mean and I know… _I know_ that it hurts when you know humans would shudder in disgust at what we had to do. When I think about what Mike would do if I told him that I killed people… It hurts me but you know what?"

"What?"

"Skye knows and she loves me. Max knows and she'd kill for me. Alec, B.J., Steve, Aiden, they all knew and they were my friends. You know what I've done, do you hate me?"

Her voice was quiet, "No."

"They, the world, may not understand our shades of grey but we do and as long as we are here for each other, that's the important part."

There was silence as Flex settled back against the support beam and they listened to the quiet of the night as she thought about that.

She eventually nodded and stood up, pulling him with her. She smiled.

"Thank you, the BBQ today was hard and brought up a few cultural differences."

Flex nodded as he recalled his first mission and how much he had had to think about when he got back.

"Bed now, Princess."

They closed the porch door and quietly went up the stairs.

Before she went into her room Nyx turned to him, "Flex?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you do when it hurts too much? When your thoughts swirl and you can't make head or tail of it all?"

"I get someone to turn the volume down," he bent down and kissed her forehead. "I'm here for you, Princess."

He was granted a genuine smile from her and a swift hug before she shut her door.

Flex wandered down the hall and crawled into bed with Skye. She was already half-asleep and snuggled back against him, "You okay?" she muttered looking over her shoulder at him.

He swallowed thinking about his poor little Nyx and her pain, "Nyx is having a hard time out here."

"We'll help her," Skye promised and was rewarded by a little kiss to her nose.

Skye flipped over fully and melded her lips to his with a deep kiss.

He pulled away and bit his lip, "It's all kind loud up here right now." He tapped his forehead.

Skye nodded, "Then let me make it all go away."

He closed his eyes as she touched him and, indeed, made it all go away.

* * *

_Crazy vampire slayer- I think Anna is head in a different direction to the others but fear not she will end up back home._

_Angel of darkness231- Great to see that you enjoyed the BBQ. That's one for Drew and Ben!_

_ellenemi- No the Jason/Coco line was added much later, I really didn't have much use for her I'm afraid, although Jason is quite a sweetie._

_Geminangel- I hope that Galen comes out with something profound soon. After all it wont be baby noises._

_Lotamoxie- Yeah eats reviews lots! More Pix and Chance coming now and Pix is having a HUGE part in the next chapter... and unexpected one too._

_Natacup- more Drew, Dek later on and the psycho's will be having a few heart to hearts soon too._

_SGOU- Anna has her own special place in this story which is escalating out of my control. Glad that both the BBQ and Coco were to your liking, I know some had issues with them but I think that they worked well. Yeah Nyxie has a dark secret, which will come out later. BJ and Emma both had nocturnal problems of the same kind but Emma's problem is to do with her empathy rather than her DNA. Yeah my sister has had to relinquish her I hate Cece club since she feels sorry for her now. Sigh. My titles are a product of stress. Usually I try to think up the title after the chapter. I try to think of the overall theme and mismatch words until something feels right. Sometimes I pick words from movies or from the text. Occasionally I do have firm ideas as to what is to happen and that way I can name it beforehand—for example Chapter 11 is called Dark sarcasm because it features Drew and Ben heavily. SF chapter 12 is called Fear, surprise and ruthless efficiency. I go with what fits._

_Sigma1- lol, love you too! You had time to say Hi to Coco before she was whisked off into the sunset… oh okay, I'll write more on her ._

_Bluejean452- cheers pet, D and B have huge parts soon._

_Sweettweetybird06- LOL! Okay, I'll bear that in mind._

_Chaosti- you are forgiven, I too have left it a while! My bad. More Zack soon as requested. He is a cool guy isn't he?The Greeks are an army! A baby army but still!_

_Erak- Grin, sorry about the length between updates but I will get better, especially when they all meet up and it will over before you know it! I know what you mean about the names, I get so confused myself. Sophie Malfoy will be pleased, she is a nice gal. Nah Cece's breeding partner left with a bunch of kids- Harley was his name._

_Ronda the Immortal waitress- cheers pet. The ages etc are up on my site I think Ben is too dangerous for a romance, but a little fun? Surely you won't begrudge Drew a little kiss?_

_Moonlite star- LOL, you like the Greeks then! Nyxie probably could skip school, she is smart enough but has very few social skills. Anna the saviour? ROTFL!_

_Fangedangel- No I don't like slash pairings. Everyone is entitled to their own choices, but I'd rather not. Besides I think they are all paired up so far._

_DiscordantDragon- Most people say that they love the others better than the Max/Alec story. There is a lot more going on here, that is for sure. Nyx has her own secrets which will be made clear later. Drunk Aiden? Hmm, doable._

_BlackRose9- will do._

_Senorita DHL- Me too, I am missing the banter of the guys and I'm hurrying chapters to get them back together again. Yes I have trouble with ALL endings… as seen by Left behind part 1…2.2b...3.and 3b! I don't know when to stop!_

_Jynx- She has come into her own hasn't she? I didn't like her originally but she is growing on me. Drew/Ben/Alec triangle? I think Max would have something to say about that LOL._

_Shygirl1- Medic Fayth on her way to our two girls!_

_Kim- As Nyx said they should "dumb down" I think poor Zeph just forgot that time. People forget that BJ was Special Ops as he plays it down but he is very smart._

_Guest type person- Isacar is adorable! he reminds me of a younger Aiden for some reason. Zan is coming to the end of his rope but he has help soon. Zeph's comments to that lady made me laugh, he is so cute. Don't be sincere, be scary._

_Feenian- Thank you pet, Flex the family man makes me laugh since he was the biggest flirt back at Manticore. Wow lots of questions there. Some I answered here and some you will have to wait for. BJ has grown on me too! Emma's three knights? Clue ZZB._

_Someone who cares- whilst I appreciate your comments and constructive criticism, I feel that you could have expressed yourself better. Please tell me what it is that you would like me to change or add or take away so that I may make appropriate changes. I would also like it if your friend could review and let me know her thoughts than read it second hand. I am sorry that neither of you like the Greeks and feel too much time is devoted to them. You can't please everybody._

_Mae- Thanks for that, maybe he should have a random object, not like a blanket or doll or bear but something odd? Any suggestions?_

_I love Alec- Thank you for your defence and I can see both view points, I do like the Greeks and they have large parts because they show what the X's are going through as a whole and the problems that the older series are better at hiding. The next few chapters concentrate on those have large roles like Pix and Chance. I am glad that you like my stories and hope you continue to do so._

_Jade k- Thanks chick, you know me and my angst! I always pull it back together though._

_Mrs- Ben just appeared, but I did think it fit well. Galen is very young and had a harder time, by the time they get to Nyx or even Icarus they have developed some sort of tougher skin. Nyx has her own beau to come…_

_Mae- I do that too, sometimes I skip whole paragraphs—makes it better the second time I read because I see new parts._

_Natasqi- Thank you for the praise I appreciate it so much, it makes me feel that much better. The later chapters are coming easier and so will be up faster- flashback ahoy!_

_SGOU- LOL, three in one chapter? Galen's inability to talk comes from both Manticore's programming and part to do with Trauma. He has said one word, back to Steve and then saw his saviour gunned down. And one against Drew/Ben. I am counting these ya know!_

_Wendy10- I'm grateful that you think it does get better. Thank you I sometimes worry that it is going stale. Action is the big thing coming soon. Enjoy!_

_Manema- I think that when someone steps out of their fandom it is the greatest compliment, thank you so much and I am glad that you enjoy the guys so much._

_Lyndsay- thanks for the email, hope you get more time soon._

_Shana- Thank you for the support._

_SGOU- here's what begging does! Sorry for the wait!_


	9. Unforeseen Opportunities

**A/N- Why didn't someone tell me that it has been over two months since i updated this one? Honestly do i have to do everything? sheepish> Oh and Fanfic. net keep taking away m formatting! Grrrr.**

**Okay excuses... my computer broke... i'm lazy... uh, that's about it. So in a grand gesture of please don't kill me and , more importantly, abandon the story- I've made it twice as long as originally intended.**

**There, can't say i don't apologise well.**

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**Chapter 9- Unforeseen Opportunities **

The first thought that ran through Pix's head was that Anna was right. Terminal City was, indeed, Terminal dump heap. The gates were rickety home-made steel monstrosities tied together with duct tape and string.

The buildings had a general disused and grimy feel and Pix could feel himself longing for a bath.

"Home," Chance breathed and Pix glanced down at her.

"Sure if you have rat D.N.A."

"No, I mean I can feel other transgenics, can't you?"

"Not that I'd admit to on tape," Pix said absently as he stared at the fence, his expert eyes picking out all of the cameras and faults in their security system.

"Let's go in," Chance said excitedly as she clutched his hand.

Pix took a deep breath and pulled her along, "Okay then, Chance, let's get this done."

He pulled her up to the gates and then thought better about it, dragging her around to the side where he had seen a gap in their defences. With a grin reminiscent of the younger, more mischievous Pix, he hoisted her up over the gate and then jumped over himself.

They crept, keeping low as they made their way to what seemed to be the hub of activity.

Sneaking in the back way he could see a familiar redhead spouting figures by the side of a tall… lizard? Smoking a cigar.

Pix nodded, knowing that he had, at last, gone crazy.

Chance was almost jumping in excitement and detangled herself from Pix's hand. She crept up behind the red head and hissed, "Boo!" in her ear.

Feen spun around and upon seeing Chance let out the biggest, most high pitched squeal possible.

"Chance!" she threw her arms around the brunette and they hugged, long and tight.

The six foot lizard watched the two girls with something approaching amusement.

Pix walked over and held out a hand, "Hi there."

The lizard took the cigar out of his mouth and let his eyes drift up and down Pix's form, down to the hand that he offered. "Who the hell are you?"

It wasn't often in Pix's life that he had had to make the kind of decisions that everyone else made. To him, many things had come naturally and he hadn't had to give them much attention. Max had always said he had the strongest moral compass that she had ever seen. Unlike his unit he seemed to know instinctively whether something was right or wrong and acted accordingly. His induction into Special Ops had happened because he was good, knew it and didn't bother to hide it. Most times he was just too lazy to put into practice what he learned and didn't care much either. It was his way of rebellion- passive resistance, Max had called it.

The point was that, although he didn't show it, he was every bit as serious as Max when it came to protection of his unit and other transgenics and it seemed that now had come the time that he had to show that. These people were good but they weren't the best and they hadn't been trained as he had.

It was time to take over.

"I'm X5- 418, also known as Pix. But you can call me sir. I am Special operations and operatives number 6. I am your superior so wipe that smirk off your face, get the cigar stubbed out and collect whatever passes for your head team here in two hours."

The lizard, Feen and Chance all gaped at this new side to Pix. He ignored them.

"You have holes in defence a mile wide, your offence is a joke and you obviously aren't equipped to handle the large scale evac headed your way. This changes now, gentlemen." He realised that he had the attention of everyone in command. "We aren't a refugee camp; we are soldiers and its damn well time that we acted like it. Now move!"

His words had the effect of a small explosion as everyone suddenly had somewhere else to be. Even the lizard was suddenly scarce.

Chance looked up at Pix with new respect, "Wow."

Pix looked down at an open mouthed Feen and leaned forward, giving her a kiss on the forehead, "Good to see you, Feen."

"You too!" she said impressed. "Damn what did you have for breakfast?"

A smile curved his lips, "Road grit. It was tasty. Where's Techie?"

"Over in the brown hut," she said. "Probably covered in electronics."

Pix nodded, "Back in a few." And he walked out of central command, his head held high and the two friends staring after him.

>>>

Techie was very interested in electronics. It had always been a point with him that he liked machines better than people as they didn't expect you to talk, or have interesting things to say. They didn't care if you had all the social grace of a hyena and a leper combined. All they asked was that you treated them with respect and didn't douse them with soda, which, when you thought about it, wasn't that hard a request.

At least electronics didn't make you sit, red with embarrassment, as they reiterated the many charms of your fellow unit and their bodies. He still shuddered over the ritual torture known as "Girls night". He hadn't wanted to know that Dek had a cuter ass than B.J. nor that Mets' Italian accent made Anna's knees shake. It was… creepy.

He was currently twiddling with an archaic computer console, trying to salvage some components to use for the security system.

One hand held down some circuits while the other fumbled for a screwdriver.

"Here." He was handed the screwdriver.

"Thanks," he said absently and twiddled further. "Can you pass me the 3a wrench?"

"Here ya go."

Techie smiled as he was handed the correct instrument and he carried on messing with his gadget, glad that whoever it was beside him didn't care much for conversation.

Pix watched, amused, as Techie carried on with his mechanics, ignoring Pix's presence as if he wasn't even there. He had enough experience of Techie in what he called "mechanics thrall" to know that it was pointless to try to distract him at this point.

He sat and waited a full hour, just watching his friend and handing him the instruments as he needed them, not speaking but enjoying the presence of one of his friends. Techie wasn't Dek, Aiden or B.J. but he was a good friend all the same and it was comforting to know that he was there and he was all right.

After an hour he got up off his chair, "Techie, the heads of departments will be having a meeting in an hour. Make sure that you are there. That's an order, okay?"

Techie didn't even look up, "Okay, Pix."

Pix just grinned and left Techie to himself.

Twenty minutes later Techie froze in his ministrations. "Pix?"

>>>>>>>

Logan watched as Tara finished typing up the pages he required and tucked her long blonde hair behind her ear in annoyance. He smiled at the familiar gesture and wheeled himself over.

"Hey, Tara."

"Logan." Her voce was polite and cordial but there was the undercurrent of utter disinterest that would have presented a challenge for anyone else. But Logan knew that the disinterest masked a brutal, calculated killer despite the pretty package and she wouldn't hesitate to break his neck if he stepped out of line.

She'd made that quite clear on her first day on the job.

"Logan," she'd said as she bit her lip enticingly.

"Yeah?" he'd been captivated by that pale pink lip caught between ivory teeth and gazed dreamily up at her.

"Not to be mean or anything but I think there are a few things that I have to say that need to be said."

"Such as?"

"However grateful I may be for the apartment and the job I … don't particularly like you very much."

His jaw dropped, "What?"

"You are arrogant, egotistical, annoying and obvious. It's plain that you are trying to drive a wedge between me and Carrot and I am telling you now that you will never succeed. I love him. You've been trying to flirt with me and it's making Carrot jealous, which is a stupid thing to do to a transgenic. Stop it. Stop it now or I will be forced to prove to you that I am not jesting."

His jaw had almost hit the floor at that and he had watched as she had turned and walked away, cautioning him to be thinking hard about her words as she went.

Now he just watched her from afar knowing that he was treading on thin ice as far as Carrot was concerned. Carrot was still mad at him about the whole China-town thing and seemed more and more annoyed every time Logan called him.

He was about to ask her how Carrot was when he walked into the office and Tara's face lit up in a welcoming smile.

"Carrot!"

He came over to her, ignoring Logan as if he wasn't even there. "Hey, babe, you okay?"

"Yeah, what are you doing here?"

"Can't I take my girl to lunch?"

Tara leaned into his and placed her arms around his waist, pulling him in for a hug. "Of course you can."

"Great." He picked up her bag and gestured or her to follow him.

"Wait!" Logan suddenly spoke up and both transgenics glared down at him, "What?"

He swallowed hard as the combined stares of the two did something to his insides that wasn't totally comforting.

"Uh…" he hedged. "I just wanted the Forster contract for that bed time ad we were running."

"It's in your inbox," Tara said calmly. "Like it has been for the past two days."

Unthinkingly he said, "What would I do without you?"

Carrot's face fell and he glared hard at him, "Well if you gave her any time off, we could find out."

Logan blanched, "What?"

"Since she had started working here we have barely any time together, its work, work, work and when she gets time off, I get posted out on your dumb missions. Question for you, Mr. Cale. Do _you_ have a hidden agenda?"

"I… of course I … would you… there isn't a … what?"

"Once again, without the stutter," Carrot said blandly whilst Tara hid a smile. "Anytime in the next century of course, Mr. Cale."

"Carrot," she interspersed before Logan could have a heart attack. "We need to go home and check on Cece, she's having a rough time." she frowned, worried about Cece, knowing that she was still so sick and she had no idea what was wrong. It was a failing that grated as she prided herself on being the best medical doctor around. She started to run through Cece's symptoms; she was sick, she had lost her appetite, or eating odd foods. She was always tired and grouchy and was complaining of being bloated and sad.

Carrot watched her for a second, understanding that she was going into a trance and just nodded, knowing that she was letting Logan off the hook as much as being concerned for Cece, "Yeah, poor baby."

Tara froze. "What?"

Carrot shrugged, "Poor, Cece."

Tara's jaw dropped and then a gleam came to her eye and she grabbed Carrots, hand, "You are a genius!" she planted a firm kiss on his cheek and dragged him out of the office.

"Great… what did I do?"

>>>>>>

Techie walked into the headquarters of Terminal City with a bemused grin on his face which only expanded as he saw Pix.

"Pix!"

Pix turned to see his friend and smiled, "Hey, did ya get that thing working?"

Techie paused and thought for a second, trying to recall what it was that he had been doing. "Probably," he shrugged.

Pix laughed and motioned for him to join them on the platform as the rest of the transgenics assembled.

Pix stared down at the grimy faces and noted one or two that he recognised but many more that he didn't. He noted that the majority of the faces weren't entirely human and guessed that the anomalies made up at least forty percent of those in Terminal City. As they all filed into the command centre Pix took a deep breath and took his place on the balcony of the upper floor and stared down.

"Quiet please. My designation is X5- 418 but you can call me Pix. You are probably wondering who the hell I am to be standing in front of you all now."

"I know you," came a voice from the middle of the crowd. "You're the guy that put laughing gas in the Trainers toilet vent."

Pix scratched his head sheepishly, "Yeah."

There was a titter of laughter.

"And you painted Renfro's car pink."

The titter turned to guffaws and Pix felt himself blush.

"Okay, okay, settle down. You may have heard of some of my less than soldierly exploits," he grinned. "But rest assured that I don't do that anymore… much. The point is that I am the only Special Ops member here and as such am assuming command until someone more qualified arrives… like the janitor."

There was another round of laughter and Pix allowed himself a small grin. "Okay, so I'd like to set up some sort of proper chain of command so that all problems can be addressed. First up we need heads of security, supply, defence, tactics, personnel, catering, surveillance, electronics and my own 2IC which makes a nice round ten in the chain. Call me democratic that way." His eyes quickly wandered over the people in front of him. "My choice for 2IC is uh… lizard man?"

"Mole," he corrected and Chance's lips twitched.

A lizard named Mole? Huh. Pix smiled, "You fancy the job, Mole?"

The six foot lizard took his cigar out of his mouth and looked Pix up and down before nodding slowly, "All right, pretty boy. I'm in."

"Great," Pix nodded. "Who was the guy at the console with the eye thing?"

"Dix?" Mole pointed to where the man stood.

"Right, Dix, you down with the surveillance job?"

The monocle-d anomaly blinked at him. "Do I get free HBO?"

Pix grinned. "No, but our health plan is excellent."

More laughter and Pix relaxed slightly. "My only other appointee is Techie as electronics head," Techie's head whipped up and his mouth dropped. "I don't know the rest of you well enough to make more appointments. You know if you have the qualification or the inclination so if you want any of the department jobs then tell Mole here. We are a small army against the world and we have to stick together people so no more X vs freak prejudice, coz the world out there has plenty to go around. I'll talk more later, for now anyone who is old enough will be assigned to a team for something, whether it be guard duty or scut work. So names left with… Feen here."

The redhead gave him a startled look and then nodded determinedly. "Yes, sir."

"That's all folks." Pix turned back to his friends. "My first address."

Chance eyed him. "Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?"

"Buried him," he said as he pulled her to him and wrapped hands around her waist. "For now. Why, do ya miss him?"

Chance bit her lip impishly, "I dunno, I kinda like the domineering Pix."

"Ew, TMI, thanks," Feen shuddered.

"Uh, Pix?" Techie said. "This whole 'me as department head' thing?"

"Inspired!" Feen said and planted a kiss on his lips. "There is something so sexy about a man in authority."

Techie sagged. "People in authority get used as figureheads and advice gurus. Some spark-happy kid with a James Bond complex is going to want me to mentor him and talk about how to chat up girls. I should go live under a bridge; I bet no one would bother me there."

Feen grabbed his face between her hands and looked him in the eye, "If you think you're getting away, I'll prove you wrong. Wherever you go, wherever you hide, I'll follow you. You promised that you were mine and you are not getting off that easy."

The depth of emotion in her eyes made him melt all over again and Techie found himself agreeing to the position.

"Okay," he whispered against her lips, "But the second anyone wants to talk about personal things, I quit."

"Done," Pix agreed. "Thanks, pal."

"You owe me," Techie said over Feen's red head as he pulled her in closer for a hug.

Pix just smiled and looked around his new command centre. There was a lot of work to do to get this place in order and even more to get them into a safe atmosphere. He just hoped that he was up to the mammoth job ahead of him.

"Hey, pretty boy?"

He turned to Mole, "Pix, or Sir, or even 418… not pretty boy."

"Sure thing," Mole said chewing on his cigar. "I think we've assembled our team heads already. Got a few with high qualification but two of our new guys are arguing already."

Pix felt his shoulders sag, "All right, I'll be there in a second."

"Whatever you say, Pixie," Mole smirked and walked away.

Pix stared after him," Oh, I'm going to hate him, aren't I?"

"Anna did say to mind the Mole," Chance reminded him and Feen's head perked up.

"You've seen Anna?" she said excitedly. "We were wondering where she had gone. One day she up and walked out, we figured she had just gone for her usual day and half mope, but she didn't come back."

Pix sighed, "Tell Feen about Agent White and the Manticore side-project, but keep it to yourselves until we have had chance to check it out, okay?"

"Sure," Chance nodded and took Feen aside.

Pix turned to Techie and smiled wanly as he heard raised voices coming from the other side of the compound.

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends?" Techie quipped.

"Yeah," Pix winced as glass smashed. "Whoever burned down Manticore has a lot to answer for."

>>>>>>

Her long blonde hair cascaded down her back and her eyes glittered in amusement and delight as she smiled broadly. She crossed her legs and touched her dangly diamond earring self consciously.

"Oh, Mr. Frederickson you are such a tease."

The dapper grey haired man leaned into her, his cologne overpowering in its intensity. "My dear, you haven't seen a thing."

"Beg to differ," she said as she bit her lip coquettishly. "For example, I saw the ace up your sleeve and the way you pocketed that $500 chip when the concierge's back was turned."

His smile fell as Sunny straightened and lost the air-head persona she had carefully cultivated around him.

"Wha-?" he began and she smirked.

"Gig's up, you've been rumbled. Biggs?"

On her command a burly man with cropped dark hair came up behind them, "S'up, girl?" he asked.

"Mr. Frederickson has worn out his welcome here at the casino, take him away."

Biggs grinned and hauled the protesting man away and Sunny looked down at her carefully manicured hands which held the $500 dollar chip she had lifted from his pocket. "Easy money," she said and leaned back in her chair to smile at the security cameras.

It was only moments later that Biggs was back and he slumped into the chair next to her.

"Damn, that's the fifth one today, what is with the world? Are there no honest people left?"

"Sure there are, honey," she purred, "but not in Vegas. Besides it's not that they are bad people, just bad cheaters."

Biggs chuckled, "I'll be glad when this shift is over, I'm shattered." He rubbed the back of his neck in emphasis.

"Hmm," Sunny said. "A nice long hot bath and a warm dinner in front of the fire before we settle down for the night."

"Sounds divine," Biggs murmured vaguely as he stared at the cameras.

"Biggs?" Sunny was slightly piqued. Here she was doing her best flirtatious voice and he was elsewhere.

"Uh, huh, I'd like that," he said absently and her eyebrows shot up.

"Hello, Biggs?"

"Hm?" Biggs' head turned to her and he suddenly looked chagrined. "Sorry, babe."

"Explain preoccupation please," she ordered and he bit his lip.

"It's been more than a month and no word, no transgenics, nothing. I know… I _know_ we can't be the only ones that made it out."

Sunny nodded, she too had had those thoughts and was more than a little alarmed at the lack of information of their brethren.

She gestured for him to follow her knowing that the casino floor wasn't a safe place to talk about those kinds of things.

They ended up in their hotel suite which had been upgraded by management when they had agreed to work for the security department.

Sunny sat on the bed and watched Biggs as he started to pace.

"It's like there was no such thing as Manticore," he started. "One second we were in hell and now we live here in the lap of luxury and we haven't heard a word from any of them. We haven't even seen another transgenic at all!"

"Or maybe we have," Sunny said quietly.

"What?"

"Our main training was to make us stay hidden," she explained, "for us to be unnoticed and pass without comment. We could have a transgenic living next to us and unless he chose to reveal himself we would never know. That was the point, Biggs. For us to be… forgettable."

"Yeah, well I haven't forgotten," he said harshly. "I can't."

"I miss them too," she said, not put off by his terse tone. "Max and Alec, Coco and B.J, and Zan and all the rest. I miss them too, I understand how you feel."

"No, you don't," he argued and she recoiled as if slapped. "You can't."

"Then explain it to me," her voice was much cooler.

Biggs laughed harshly and raked his hands through his shorter hair, "You…. I can't…" he took a deep breath. "I miss Alec, he was my best friend, my confidant, yeah. I miss B.J. and Steve. God, I miss Steve like crazy, he always made me laugh. Those I miss, I want to see everyday but none of them even compare to what I… how I miss Chance. My sister."

"Oh god!" Sunny's hand flew to her mouth. "I didn't even think… Biggs."

Biggs gave a strangled laugh and sank to the bed flinching away from Sunny when she tried to touch him.

"I try to be happy and carefree but how can I when I failed so much."

"You didn't fail."

"I'm her big brother and I am supposed to keep her safe and free from harm and it seems like every time I turn around I've blown it. I never managed to keep her from the brig or solitary confinement, I never took care of her like I should, instead I used to let Alec go and comfort her in the dark. What the hell kind of big brother lets his sister cry alone in the dark?" his breathing became ragged and Sunny looked on in horror, she never knew that he carried this kind of guilt around with him. She had no idea what to say to even try to comfort him on this one.

In truth she had forgotten that happy-go-lucky Biggs even had a sister, let alone that it was ever quiet sweet Chance. They were such polar opposites and they had never seemed close at all. Instead it was much easier to believe that he was just like the rest of them, free of obligation and responsibilities.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"I tried to tell myself that she was okay, that she was with Pix and he would be taking care of her. He would take care of her. Like Alec did. Like I never bothered to do."

"That's not true," Sunny offered. "I remember you taking the time to screen Pix to make sure he was good enough. If I recall rightly you always looked behind you in basic training to make sure that she was keeping up with you. It's not the big things, Biggs, it's the little things and I am sure that she is fine."

"And waiting for me to come get her? Yeah, like she'd believe that I would take the time out of my busy schedule to take care of her. I never have before," he replied bitterly.

"Chance loves you and whether you accept it or not, she is a woman and I doubt that even at sixteen she would have been grateful for your constant concern. She needed room to grow but at the same time have someone in her life that she knew would be there. She always knew that she could come to you," Sunny said, hoping that she was right. "Chance probably was glad for the way you never crowded her."

"You think?" his eyes were almost begging and Sunny smiled.

"I know I would."

He sighed and sat back and they were quiet for a moment. "You know the first time I saw her was when I was six. I had been moved over from the pre-unit for three years and had almost done with basic procedures. The two guards came into my room and shoved this tiny brown fluff ball into my view. She stood there with her shaven head and big brown eyes and stared at me. The guards said um… this unit-member was harvested from the same genetic contributor. With minor exceptions of animal DNA she was my genetic counterpart. Then they left and she stood there in the middle of the room looking so damn frightened. The she took two steps… and fell over her own feet straight into my arms."

They both laughed at that, although Biggs' laugh was far damper than Sunny's. "She glanced up with those big brown eyes and they were shining with tears, like she expected to get punished and that was when I knew."

"Knew what?"

"That she was my sister. She was family and that I would move heaven and earth to protect her. I would kill for her. I made her sleep in my bed with me until Alec forced me to let her go a bit. He always knew what she needed. He was her big brother too."

"He was great that way," Sunny added. "He made me feel welcome; he made us all feel welcome."

"Not Max!" Biggs choked, his former melancholy leaving as he recalled the way Alec had 'welcomed' the '09er.

"Oh, boy, can you imagine the two of them stuck together?" she laughed. "One misunderstanding and they wouldn't talk for a month."

"Max would get mad and defensive, Alec would retreat and it would take some final confrontation usually Max kicking Alec in the soldiers to make her point."

"At which point he would grovel for her forgiveness."

"Which she would grudgingly give."

"Eventually."

"Kisses abound."

"Until he screws up."

"Again."

"Again."

One look was all it took and they both burst into laughter again. It was a good twenty minutes before they had calmed down enough to speak again and it was Sunny's turn to talk.

"You know, we can start keeping closer eye on the public, maybe stick out feelers for our guys?"

Biggs sat up, "We do seem to run into some unsavoury types."

"So we exchange information for leniency in their sentences?"

Biggs smiled, "Sounds like a plan." He leaned closer. "I do love smart women."

Sunny lay back on the bed, her hair in a fan around her head like a blonde halo, "Show me."

>>>>>>

Cece had made friends with the interesting stains on the bathroom ceiling in the past few weeks. The bathroom floor too, come to think of it, and of course, those suspicious ones behind the toilet bowl that she so earnestly hugged. The one on the ceiling kinda looked like a map of Europe and the one by the door reminded her of her Life Skills trainer, all lumpy and… and…

Cece bent over the bowl as she lost the breakfast that she didn't even remember eating.

Once she was done, she rested her head against the cool porcelain and wished to hell and back that she knew what was wrong with her. She was sick and tired, literally, of being sick and tired. Her head hurt, her brain felt like mush and all she wanted was to go back to Manticore and beg Renfro to put her out of her misery.

She was about to curl up on the cold tile floor and try to sleep when she heard the front door bang open.

"CECE?" Tara called and she scrambled to her feet, pushing her unease aside as she raced for the front room.

"What?" she asked, "What is it?"

Tara skidded to halt in front of her and plastered a huge smile on her face. "I have an idea as to what is causing your illness."

Cece's eyes widened, "Spill it, now!"

Tara smiled, "I'll have to use special, highly expensive, sensitive equipment."

"Do it already."

Tara dropped to her knees and pressed her ear against Cece's midsection.

Cece looked down, "Uh, what are you doing?"

"Shh," Tara said. "I'm busy."

"Uh huh," Cece looked worried. "Carrot?" she called in mid-panic.

His curly red head peered around the door and he almost had hysterics at the sight of his girlfriend on her knees in front of their flatmate.

"You've both cracked up," Cece decided. "Great."

Tara clambered to her feet, "You two put me off, I was using highly specialised equipment there."

"How about using this instead?" Carrot held up a small box with the words 'pregnancy tester' emblazoned on the side.

"Spoil my fun," Tara pouted.

Cece's jaw dropped, "_Hello_? What the hell are you talking about?"

"I think you are pregnant," Tara said succinctly. "It fits in with all of your symptoms and explains more than it doesn't."

"No," Cece stated, waving her hands in dismay and disbelief. "No way at all. I can't be pregnant."

"Didn't you and Harley…?" Carrot trailed off, leaning against the door as he regarded his friend.

"Yes, but… but… only the once and… and with very poor lighting."

Tara bit her lip. "Darkness isn't usually recognised as an effective contraceptive."

Cece sagged. "No, nononono, this isn't fair."

"Fair or not, we have to test you first." Carrot held up the test in a box and Cece pushed herself over to fetch it from his hands.

"Pink for yes, blue for no," Tara chirped.

"I'm a transgenic," Cece replied before she slammed the door. "It'll probably be green."

>>>>>>

B.J. smiled at Jace as she tapped her fingers on the desk in annoyance.

"What's eating you?"

She spared him a glare and went back to the rhythm of fingers against the desk top. Tap taptap tap tap taptap tap.

B.J. watched those lean hands for moment and reached under his desk for his water bottle. He grinned as he started to tear strips of paper up and roll them into balls.

Jace was furious. She couldn't believe that she had had a transgenic working in the same office as her for the past few weeks and she hadn't noticed. She. Hadn't. Noticed.

He had animal DNA for hell's sake, how the hell could she have missed it?

Okay, so he didn't growl in the office or cock his leg against the furniture but there should have been some sign… shouldn't there?

She tapped her fingers against and sighed loudly. Suddenly she felt something wet and sticky on her neck and she yelped and spun.

B.J. loaded up the straw he had found with another wet paper ball and blew it at her. It landed squarely on her cheek and she swiped it away with a death-glare at him.

"What the hell do you think that you are doing?"

He broadly grinned at her. "Well, you looked like you were having some disturbing thoughts and I decided that it was time to cheer you up."

Jace picked up the wet paper ball and flicked it back at him, "No wonder I never realised that you were a transgenic if all you do is act like a juvenile."

He put the straw down with an odd look, "Is that was what was bothering you?"

Jace shrugged, "I have been on the run from Manticore for all of my life, always watching over my shoulder for anyone who might be spying on me, or after me, in one form or another. Now that Manticore is destroyed I know that I have to double my guard not let it down. And here you are, a transgenic. Never mind that your intentions have been harmless, I should have known what you are, for my own piece of mind."

B.J. bit his lip, "So you aren't mad at me, per se, just the fact that you should have realised that I was the enemy, even when I wasn't."

"Exactly, I feel the biggest idiot out," she said, pleased that he seemed to understand.

B.J.'s lips twitched at the bizarre logic. "Okay, well, look, Princess, the problem isn't that you didn't know. After all you may have been looking over your shoulder for the past ten years but you haven't been in training. I, on the other hand, have not only been in training, but the Special Ops program and yet I didn't know that you were transgenic either. That makes me ten times the fool that you seem to think you are."

She blinked. "You are Special Ops?"

"Uh huh," he confessed.

Her lips twitched, "I guess I came in second then."

B.J. poked his tongue out at her, "Gee, I feel special now."

She pulled back a giggle and sat up straighter. "No offence, but you don't look the serious Manticore type."

B.J. let the good humour leech from his face and be replaced with what they affectionately called the "Manticore mask". It was blank expression where no muscle moved and made the gaze automatically drift up to the dead eyes; the dead eyes that said categorically that you were just meat and they wouldn't hesitate to kill you if ordered. It was an expression designed to drive fear into the hearts of enemies or, at least, to convince them what they were dealing with was something that they had nightmares about as a child. It was a very effective look and shot chills throughout Jace's spine.

"Ok," she said as she fought to keep from wrapping her arms around herself.

She hadn't been in Manticore long enough to be that jaded or that scary and even though the place had left its mark on her, she had never had the opportunity or inclination to learn it. To retreat somewhere inside your head that only you could go and let that… that beast out to have free reign, to devour and to kill without compunction or conscience was something that she found abhorrent. And yet they all had the capacity inside them to become these cold, conscienceless killers. It was what they had been made for; what their purpose was and only a random escape had prevented her from becoming another robot to be used and abused as Manticore saw fit.

B.J. smiled and the light lit up his eyes again, his personality returning as if the moment had never happened.

And that, thought Jace, was the scariest part of all.

>>>>>>

Cece came out of the bathroom and leaned against the door frame. Tara and Carrot, who had been in deep conversation, looked up at her.

"Well?" Tara said excitedly.

"Green," Cece said acidly.

Carrot's jaw dropped. "Really?"

"No." Cece rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Pink for yes, blue for no?"

"Uh huh."

Cece sagged into the closest chair and threw her head back. "God, I hate being a girl." she threw the test over to an uncharacteristically exuberant Tara.

Tara checked the colours and smiled, "Congratulations."

"Commiserations," Carrot corrected as he leaned over to double check.

"Thanks," Cece said dryly. "I think… damn, I don't know what to think."

"Babies are good… aren't they?" Tara asked doubtfully.

"Not in my world," Cece said. Her hands were fluttering madly, as they usually did when she was frustrated. "What the hell am I supposed to do with it?"

Carrot looked at her. "Well, you can't eat it."

Cece sobered enough to glare at him and Tara jumped in.

"It would be far too dangerous to go to human doctors for any kind of abortive measures and… is that what you want?"

"How the hell should I know?" Cece spat. "For Manticore's sake, I have no idea how to deal with this. Terrorist bomb, ok. Rescue mission, I'm your girl. Baby? No."

"It can't be that hard." Carrot cringed at the look both women shot him.

"In Life skills lesson back at Manticore, do you remember that "how to deliver a baby class"?"

They all winced at the memory.

>

"I'm Trainer Bartley and I will be assuming Trainer Betty Reads's position this week since her unfortunate… accident in your life skills class last week."

Skye had smirked and hid a grin behind her hand as Steve chuckled.

"Is she _badly_ burnt?" Cece asked carefully knowing that she was the one who had tripped the flirting blond with her 'clumsiness'.

Trainer Bartley gave her a look. "Ms. Reads twisted her ankle in her fall and was burned by the contents of one of your… concoctions," Dek winced, "she will be fine once the swelling has gone down."

Drew elbowed Max as she coughed into her hand masking her giggles.

"I don't cook, so this class will be on emergency procedures that may come in useful in the field. Situation: you are in a hostage situation or escorting civilians through enemy terrain. You come across some blockade, maybe a terrorist guerrilla pack blocking the road. Maybe you're in a building and there is no visible means of escape. In your group of civilians are women and children. One woman is pregnant. Whilst the terrorists are dicking around, she goes into labour. What do you do?"

Pix held up his hand, "What's dicking around mean?"

The Trainer shot him a look, "What you do everyday, 418. Piss people off by goofing around."

Pix grinned and sat back satisfied that his reputation preceded him.

"She's going into labour?" Aiden said pondering. "Can I swap sides?"

B.J. lost control of his laughter and erupted into giggles, "Oh, I can just see that now. Excuse me, Mr. Terrorist, this itty bitty little señorita is having a baby, can I play with you instead?"

"No, 344, you can't join the terrorists."

Pix thought harder, "Can we stuff a cork—"

He was stopped by Alec kicking the back of his chair and all the females in his unit shooting him death glares.

"Behave," Coco hissed, "or be in pain."

"What would you do first, 219?"

Zan shrugged, "Try to get to a hospital?"

"Pray?" Pix whispered.

"There are no medical doctors around and if you do not deliver the baby then these hostages or civilians will lose confidence in you… is that enough impetus for you, 418?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Pix said, chastened.

"494, any ideas?"

Alec looked panicked, "Isn't there something to do with breaking water and contractions, to gauge how close the baby is to being born?"

"Well done, 494. First determine if she is a first-time mother, most women who have been through it before know what to expect. New mothers will need calming."

"They won't be the only ones," Techie said with a shiver. "I'd want the drugs first."

"There are false alarms when a woman is in the last trimester but when contractions are about three to five minutes apart and last 40- 90 seconds- and increase in strength and frequency- for at least an hour the labour is most likely real and not false."

"Which is comforting," Mets added. "The last thing you need is to get all geared up and the brat doesn't arrive as scheduled."

"The good news people, is that babies basically deliver themselves."

"Handy," Skye said to her brother who nodded.

"But they will not come out of the womb until they are ready. Have clean, dry towels, a clean shirt or something similar on hand."

"My shirt?" Biggs said. "So I have to take off my bullet proof vest to strip for some sweating mama?"

Max leaned back, thankful that the Trainer couldn't hear half of these comments. If he had transgenic hearing then this little sarcasm fest would issue many hours in solitary.

She grinned as Sunny slapped the back of Biggs's head and Chance giggled at her brother being chastised.

Alec leaned over to her and whispered, "I think Skye is getting broody."

Skye was looking disgusted at the subject and her facial expression had set B.J. and Aiden off in hysterics.

Max nodded and focussed on what the Trainer was saying.

"Ok, so, what we need is some hands on experience."

Silence.

"Did he just say what I thought he said?" Mets said horrified.

Steve shook his head. "Nah, he didn't."

"So, we are going to go into the practical room."

Steve nodded. "Looks like he did."

They all stood up and filed into the large room next to the Life Skills class. On several long tables there were several mannequins.

Pregnant mannequins.

"I think I need to go to Med Bay," Carrot said. "Can I get a pass?"

"No," said Trainer Bartley. "Triple up and head to a table."

"Where's Tara when you need her?" Max said dryly.

"In the Congo," Carrot said. "Assisting on a med-evac."

"Selfish," Alec shook his head, "when we need her here."

He moved to intercept Max but was pre-empted by Drew and Dek, who stuck his tongue out at Alec as they pushed Max off to one table with a red-faced Hispanic model on it.

Alec glared at Dek menacingly but was blown a kiss by the arrogant blond.

Chance and Feen yanked Alec's hand. "Come on, boss-man, we need a male in this arrangement."

Alec nodded even as he pouted at the unfair pairings.

"Alec is gonna kick your ass, you do know that, right?" Drew said archly as she leaned against the table with her arms folded.

"Of course," Dek said cheekily as he wrapped his arm around Max's shoulders.

She wasn't paying attention and looked bemusedly over to one side. "Who else thinks that that trio is a recipe for disaster?"

Dek followed her glance to see Pix, Aiden and B.J. grin at each other over the model of a sweaty brunette.

"Disaster doesn't cover it," he said with a laugh.

"Uh sir, I think ours is having twins," Anna called over the African behemoth they had been assigned.

Pix had procured a piece of paper form somewhere and looked over it mock- seriously, "Insert flap a into tab b…" he looked at the woman in front of him. "I don't think ours _has_ a tab b."

Max hid her face as she erupted in laughter and heard several of the others follow.

"Haha, take this seriously, it might save your sanity later on." The Trainer was serious. "Imagine if you fail. The woman dies, the baby dies. Her father wants you dead and the people will not respect you. The civilians don't trust your judgement, they make mistakes and they die. The battle is lost, the war is lost."

"For the want of a nail," Mets said sombrely, "the war was lost."

"Smart ass," mumbled Dek but the words had a calming effect on the transgenics and they stood in front of the models whilst the Trainer moved to the back of the room.

He flicked a switch and all of a sudden screams filled the air, agonised screams of a woman in labour.

"Oh, that's sick!" Sunny turned green.

"That is real, that is what you would hear. Now as the baby moves out of the womb its head, which is the biggest part of its body, will open the cervix so the rest of it can pass through. As the baby moves through the birth canal, and out of the mother's body, you need to guide it out by supporting the head and then the body."

He flicked another switch and the cervix of each model began to pulsate as the baby was pushed through. The recorded screams grew louder.

"I'm going to throw up," Techie announced and Steve patted his back.

"Me too, pal."

"Oh look, she's having… a fur ball?" Coco pointed to the dark fuzz that was emerging between the woman's legs.

"Some babies are born with lots of hair," the Trainer explained.

"I think mine is from Mars," Flex said as he pointed it out to Zan. "I don't think many earthlings have toes on their head."

"Maybe they inserted it the wrong way around?" Zan offered.

"Sorry, ma'am," Emma said to the dummy. "You're having an alien."

The Trainer rolled his eyes. "If the feet come first or as it is commonly known—a breech baby— the danger is that the cervix may not be dilated enough to get head out afterwards. Today most breech babies delivered through caesarean. Which you will learn about in medical training. However, if no medical equipment is available, and if you have no alternatives when the baby begins to emerge try to deliver baby feet first."

Dek held his hands and tried to ease the baby out of the mother whilst Drew looked on in polite interest.

"You know, one of the women should do this," he said suddenly. "I'm sure… Hermione here must be easier with a woman down here."

"Hermione?" Drew raised an eyebrow.

"Poor Hermione, lost her husband during the war just after they found out she was pregnant with their first baby," Dek shook his head as the child slid into his hands, covered in goo. "It was a crushing blow since he was the leader of the resistance and a great spy. He fell in love with her during his stint undercover and they planned to marry once the war was over. Now all she has left of him lies here in my hands."

The silence clued him in and he looked up to see the rest of the room regarding him in open-mouthed silence.

"Beautiful, man, just beautiful," Pix pretended to wipe a tear away before turning around to mock-bawl on Aiden's shoulder.

"Well done, 766, by successfully identifying with the woman and engaging her in conversation you regain the trust and thanks of her and her people which could serve you well later," the Trainer said as he walked by.

Drew just gave him a look. "You need all kinds of help."

Dek chuckled as he passed the child over to Max who took it gingerly.

"When the baby is out of the mother dry it off and keep it warm. Do not slap its behind to make it cry, the baby will breathe on its own. If necessary clear any fluids out of the baby's mouth with your fingers."

"Will it bite?" Feen said as she poked her finger into the open mouth of the baby.

Steve held the baby and tried to pass it over to Techie who backed away. "Allergies," he protested.

"Tie off the umbilical cord by taking a piece of string, a shoe lace works well, and tie off the cord several inches from the baby."

"Use your shoelace," Cece said to Mets who shook his head.

"I like my shoes; I have pride in my appearance."

"We're in the middle of a war!" Cece hissed.

"Then you use _your_ shoelace," he said stubbornly. Anna sighed and stripped off her shoes and undid a lace.

"Here," she snapped. "God, it's like babysitting three of you."

"It is not necessary to cut the umbilical cord unless you are hours away from hospital. In that event, you can safely cut the cord by tying it in another place a few inches closer to the mother and cutting it between the knots. Leave the cord alone until you get to a hospital. The piece of the cord attached to the baby will fall off itself. The placenta will follow the baby in as few as 3 or as many as 30 minutes," The Trainer finished with a smirk as he watched the various transgenics fumble and fret.

Max, Drew and Dek seemed to be doing well now that Dek had "bonded" with the mother. Max cut the cord and Dek placed it tenderly on the woman's chest.

"Look, Hermione," he said. "A beautiful baby boy, which, I think, you should name Dek. That's—"

"D. I. C. K," Drew spelt.

"We have a girl!" Pix called loudly in jubilation. Aiden leaned over and flipped the baby up the right way. Pix looked again. "We have a boy!"

"Do I look like the maternal type?" Skye said with one hand on her hip. "I'll take over when it gets to college level."

Steve looked between her and Techie who was looking greener than before. He sighed, "Fine, I'll play daddy."

Cece looked at her two partners noting that neither of them seemed particularly inclined to cut the cord. She stepped forward and wrapped Anna's shoelace around the cord and used her sharp thumbnail to slice through the thick tissue. Her hands were covered in goo and when she shook her hand to get rid of it she didn't notice the dollop that fell to the floor. In her haste to rid herself of the infant she stepped on the goo and slid, arms pin wheeling as she fell backwards dropping the baby on the floor. She groaned as she leaned forward, her hands on her knees.

A loud squeal clued her in to what she had sat on and she winced.

Her friends helped her up whilst they looked down at the sad remnants of the doll.

"When I said babysitting, that isn't _exactly_ what I meant," Anna had offered dryly.

>

"It was a fake baby," Cece wailed, "I killed it and it wasn't even a real child. How the hell am I supposed to take care of a real one? I have no maternal instinct whatsoever."

Tara bit her lip, "I saw the video of the training session." What she didn't say was that the Trainer had shown it widely around the fighting barracks to boost morale and they all had a good laugh at the way the hardened soldiers handled human matters.

"Great," Cece slumped further, "what do I do now?"

"Well," Carrot said, "You can have it and raise it; have it and give it away or don't have it."

Cece and Tara both eyed him.

"I never knew you were so pragmatic," Tara said impressed.

"I have hidden depths," Carrot leaned over and they shared a brief kiss.

"Yes, you do," she purred.

Cece rolled her eyes. "Uh, not to be self-centred, but can we go back to talking about me?"

"Okay," Carrot nodded. "The question all comes down to safety and what you know you can handle."

Cece looked up blankly.

"Can you handle waking up one day and realising that you have killed your baby? Or can you handle the pain and pressure of bring it up? How strong are you, Cece?"

Cece closed her eyes and leaned back. Good question. Damn good question.

>>>>>>

"No way!"

Ben held up his hands. "I swear to Lydecker!"

Drew giggled as she squirmed on the table and forked another mouthful of toffee ice cream into her mouth.

She and Ben were sat in the candle lit front room. He lay against the front of the sofa, nursing a bottle of cheap wine, whilst Drew sat on his coffee table, her legs crossed and Ice-cream tub in her lap.

The day had started off with Ben brining her breakfast in bed and then taking her around the city to find someplace for her to stay; but with her injury it was slow going and they had gotten along so well that he offered her to stay with him a while longer.

Drew agreed and was currently enjoying a "getting to know you" game that usually required alcohol but wasn't prudent given her injury… hence the ice cream.

"Okay," she said around the toffee pieces. "Favourite… lesson?"

Ben leaned his head back and grinned, "Seek and destroy."

Her eyebrows rose. "Really?"

He glared at her. "What, too bloodthirsty for ya?"

Drew shook her head. "No need to be so defensive, it's just that that was my favourite too."

He smiled at her. "No one else really gets it, but when you're out there in the field and there's nothing but you and the chase."

"You don't have to think of anything else, or… or justify yourself to anyone," Drew added with a flush.

"Nothing quite like the thrill of the race, knowing that your prey is just ahead of you but you are faster, smarter—"

"—and the way that the field narrows until it's just the two of you—"

"—and the elements, nature at her finest—"

"—you are primed and ready and no one can beta you. The raw energy and competition. Survival of the fittest and its just you—"

"—no judging or trying to live up to someone else's expectations. There is just the hunt, the chase."

"And the kill," Drew finished and sat back, looking down at Ben whose face was as alive as hers was.

There was silence for a moment before he spoke, "You know, no one has really got that… got _me_ before."

"I get it, I get… my CO understood, didn't really approve but understood."

"Sounds like a great guy."

Drew laughed at the thought of Max being described as a great guy.

"Yeah, my CO was great… _is_ great," she grabbed the bottle of wine off Ben and took a long drink. "God, I hope they all survived."

Ben shifted. "For the record, I am sorry for burning down your home."

Drew chuckled darkly. "Yeah, I'd kick your ass for it, but you made me breakfast."

"I'll drink to that!" he reached up to grab the wine but ended up pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear instead. "You're pretty."

"Manticore designed, I am gorgeous!" she stated firmly and Ben laughed.

"Yeah, but with you it's more than that, ahem. Truth… you have a very devoted guy waiting out there somewhere for you?"

"True."

"Damn," Ben looked away. "Your friends will probably kill me if they saw me. After all I am the '09er."

"Maybe a few years ago they would have tried to rearrange your face with a crowbar… but Maxie changed that."

"Oh god, Max would kill _you_ for calling her that. She hated that nickname."

"Still does," Drew confessed. "We'd all use it to drive her crazy. It was fun when she was all wound up and then she'd slap Alec for it. It was usually his fault anyway."

"Alec?"

"494… your twin."

"Huh," Ben nodded. "I met him, ya know, briefly."

Drew went back to her ice cream. "She said."

"I miss her, ya know. Max was always my favourite."

"Sister?"

Ben shuddered, "No way! That whole family—sibling—gig was all Zack. Max was a lot of things to me but not my sister."

"Ah!" Drew looked knowingly at him. "So you like her like that?"

Ben raked his hand through his hair looking too much like Alec for Drew's peace of mind. "I guess I do at that."

"Well, Alec is her guy and he'd kick your ass. He's in Special Ops, ya know?"

"Yeah, I can't believe that I got… _he _got to Special Ops… or that Maxie did. It kinda blew my mind."

Drew smiled a smile that would have reminded any of her squad of Pix. "If that blew your mind then this will send you over the edge."

"Oh?" he looked politely intrigued.

"My CO, my great CO? Fair of mind, fair of face, kind, considerate, caring, non-judgemental, strong and calming?"

"Yeah?"

"X5-452."

Ben's jaw dropped and Drew laughed out loud.

"Max?"

"Uh huh."

"My Max?"

Drew nodded.

"No way."

"Uh huh!"

"My Maxie, little Maxie-Max. CO?"

"Commanding Officer of Special Operation and Operatives number 1."

Ben sagged back, "Well… damn. Way to go Maxie."

"Here's to Max," Drew raised her Ice cream tub. "Wherever she is right now, I hope that is having the time of her life."

"To Max!" Ben tapped the wine bottle to the tub. "May she be happy, healthy and…if possible horny."

"Eww!" Drew threw the nearest cushion at him and that was the signal for the first '09er vs. Special Ops cushion fight.

Drew won.

* * *

I just realised that I haven't updated since February! Naughty Fayth. 

Sigma1- I like creepily psychotic Ben, it makes for good dialogue and of course the suspense of not knowing if she is going to have dentistry done.

Geminangel- Oh I think Pix works well as leader- fun but fair.

Angel of darkness 231- I did and you have my sincere apologies that it has taken so flipping long for me to do it again. I swear I need constant prodding.

Bluejean452- Yeah fanfic. Net screwed with the format and got rid of my chapter segments making it hard to read.

Erak- Glad someone doesn't hold a grudge  cheers for that pet. As for pairings, I swear that these guys have a mind of their own and I am never sure who is going to end up with who. I have a few ideas- a surprise girlfie for Aiden for example- oh that will put the cat among the pigeons!

Crazy- Vampire slayer- More Pix and Chance here for you and they are now here to stay! Anna is infection free and she has a few tricks up her sleeve. She's growing on me too.

DiscordantDragon- Exactly, their family helped them to be better and far more alive than just soldiers.

Black Rose9- I'm not sure Nyxie would appreciate the hug, but thanks for the offer. What are the odds on Galen's first word? Yes Drew and Ben will be very dark- I feel guilty putting Drew through so much, but its all good. I hope this fulfilled expectations of Pix as leader. Made me laugh.

Ronda TIW- I swear its unconscious- all of these Buffy references, it permeates your life! Was there any in this one? As for Drew/Ben, we shall have to see.

Shyleigh3- It'll pick up pace now, things are heading towards the big breakthrough.

SGOU- Begging is nice and I am glad that you liked that. I love Dek/Drew too, but I think there is something there with her and Ben too. No idea how that will go, like I said before the characters have a mind of their own. I thought Pix killing the guy before asking was a nice touch, shows how much they trust each other—even f they don't like each other much. Zack/Emma scene in the next chapter- I didn't have room here! Yes Dek/Aiden have moved over to the other side- glad I could make you happy.

Manema- Thanks for the review pet, as to your question- Because Anna was a member of special ops whereas Techie and Feen were unit 8- not SO. The Special Ops teams had more training than all the other units, it's just that unit 8 was close to SO that made them all feel like one and the same.

SGOU- Pizza orgy? Messy if the cheese is hot.

Feenian- Thank you, sweets, its great that you think it gets better- hope this does too. More x's together soon, too.

Fangedangel- yeah, it was edited out by which is annoying.

Keekee- Max/Alec are strictly to SF, this is about the others but they all come together about chapter 15.

Stormvind- hey pet, everyone loves BJ/Anna and not many are up for BJ/Jace- pity that.

Moonlite star- Yes the larger reunions will start to appear in a few chapters time and we see more of Anna crusade against White- which is fun.

Shygirl1- cheers pet, sorry its taken so long.

Lotamoxie- LOL, well this one is half that, so you get half your wish. Pix's exploits will probably happen in flashbacks- it was necessary to move the story along otherwise it'd go on forever! I'm glad you like Ben, I was worried he was OOC. But I do try to get them to come to life so your praise means a lot. Thank you.

Jade-k- Zack and Jace were thrown by how unsoldierly Zan and BJ were, but imagine if they met Pix! Aiden and Dek- my fave married couple! A few home truths and bad news about Steve and Mets will have to be told soon, sadness

Lozz422- Cheers pet, I think I'm getting into it again now, rather than bits and pieces which I hope makes it better. Many thanks.

Ganko- Aww thank you, I'm glad it is still so well received. Well Pix is in it for good now and full on, so you'll enjoy that. The introductions were funny, you could so see them doing that!

Guest type person- scary is fun I always like freaking people out. Its nice and I'm sure its healthy.

Sweettweety06- please don't kill me, I swear that I will be better at updates! AS FOR Drew/Ben/Dek… sorry wonderful sandwich visions there.

Ladybug- Yup sex and Pizza, seems to work for me. Interesting point to check the other 09ers, I never thought of that. Might have to add that somewhere- thank you. Wouldn't you love to kiss Ben, even if you had Dek waiting—ooh the choices! As for Biggs worrying about his sister- hope this chapter helped.

Someone who cares- sorry I didn't mean to seem harsh. I appreciate the constructive criticism and your honesty. I hope I have rectified the problem in recent chapters- feel free to tell me if I haven't.

Kim- I had to get my butt in gear otherwise it would have gone on forever! We are on all systems go now, so things will go fast. Not messed with the formatting- there were breaks but it removed them- dumb thing!

Mrs- ooh I'm not telling but it's someone that is completely off the cuff, only the best for my Nyxie…. Although, what chocolate?

Moonlight19- All caught up yet? Wow that is a lot to read in one go!

I love Alec- Dek and Maxie together- so so sweet!

Moonlight 19- Okay I had to stop and say well done for catching up and I'm sorry for the wait. And you reviewed every chapter- kisses for that. I have had more time and opportunity to expand on characters so Flex, Skye and Anna- especially have really come into their own. It's wonderful to do and they all have their own personalities and quirks to deal with. I agree that something was missing in early chapters and it was the interaction and banter between them all, it couldn't be helped and I tried to make up for that with characterization. Drew misses Dek like mad but she has always been the stoic one, so she won't say anything. Big hugs for you, pet.

Lightstm00- thanks you, sweetheart, I am so glad that you do. Feel free to review more and tell me who is your fave.

Mae- A plant names Mae? If you want to be in the story, pet, all you have to do is ask. May is my middle name too.

L80bug- that they are, pet and the sooner the better, if you ask me!

**Elfie**- it's probably more psychosomatic, knowing that she will soon be with her family. Pix's one liners always are fun to write, he'll get better too now that eh is with Techie and Mole. Ben may be lightly OCC but we only saw him for one episode when he was tormented so hopefully he isn't too off. Sorry about Steve- really. I liked Ana meeting Pix and Chance- its wasn't too saccharine and yet it flowed well—I think anyway. The Rockwell was the same as the season 1 but Logan has other things to worry about- like a jealous Carrot. Glad Nyx and Flex weren't OTT, cheers pet.


	10. A call to arms

**A/N- **Okay this was totally not my fault this time. I have had this chapter ready for over two weeks to post, but my beta reader is sick… or rehearsing so it hasn't been beta-ed Then Liz kindly agreed to give it a once over and said it was fit for public consumption so that you could have it.

Thanks to Liz then for this and for her wonderful 10 reasons to read SF- that is sooo going on my site!

* * *

**Chapter 10. A call to arms.**

All his life he had been reared to believe that killing was just a way of life. Especially for a soldier of his stature, death was a trade and one that, despite his outward demeanour, he had, actually, been quite good at. Not to say that he randomly went around killing people; he just realised that murder had its place in life.

And as he sat listening to his new "counsel" he fondly wished for an assault rifle or two.

Pix leaned his chin on his hands and watched his new counsel. Mole, of course, was his 2IC and Pix had labelled him the person most likely to be killed by friendly fire. The lizard man had a way of making you want to slap him by saying hello. He smiled; it was like having B.J. back.

Dix was head of surveillance and made a great team with Techie, the new head of electronics, as neither of them would talk if they could grunt. Catering had fallen to a pregnant X called Gem who Pix could hazily remember aiding a Trainer during Life skills class.

The head of personnel was a chirpy, lumpy faced anomaly called Luke who chattered fast, furious and without seeming purpose. Both Feen and Chance had offered to take the place of the supply heads with the proviso that someone else would be appointed as soon as more people came into Terminal City.

Security and tactics were similarly filled with two transgenics who agreed on the terms that someone better qualified would fill in as soon as they arrived, Jay, an African- American transgenic with beaming smile that Pix recalled vaguely and a chameleonic anomaly called Kelpy. Pix took the defence job himself and was busy trying to co-ordinate his new counsel.

Who were driving him crazy.

Craz_ier_.

He sat up straighter as Jay and Mole argued on the best ways to secure Terminal City and the use of weaponry.

"Bigger, more fire-power!" Mole demanded and Jay smirked.

"You know what they say about a man and his need for bigger guns?"

There were scattered giggles as the lizard's scales turned red.

"Listen, you prissy Princess, if I have to—"

"Lighten up, Mole!" Feen touched his arm and beamed up at him. "I agree with you, we could do with more firepower but surely security is uppermost priority right now?"

Her round pixie face and baby-faced grin did what no amount of Psy-Ops had ever managed to do. Mole softened and grunted as he sat back.

Pix gave Feen a grin and settle back.

Oh, this leadership thing was hard.

Anna slowly opened her eyes and stared at the rough wooden beams of the farmhouse barn where she had spent the night. It wasn't exactly the Ritz… unless they had a new breed of designer bedbugs that she hadn't heard about.

She rolled off the hay loft that she had crashed on and sprung to her feet, thinking longingly of her old bed at Manticore… and the showers that they had there.

And, right now, she'd happily kill for a bacon sandwich. Or maybe not kill, but she'd certainly maim someone for some toast.

But she'd massacre villages for coffee.

Anna nodded, satisfied that she had her priorities in order, and stretched languidly.

After her escape from those mindless minions yesterday she had decided that she needed to find somewhere to lie low for a while and gather her thoughts.

Anna sat on a nearby hay bale and thought about her situation with a calm that most of her friends wouldn't believe that she possessed.

Her situation may be uncertain right now, but she could rearrange things to her satisfaction. All she had to do was the make matters clear in her head. So, what was she certain of?

Number one- Ames White deserved to die. She nodded, that was pretty much a given.

Number two- Ames White was far stronger than he had right to be as a human… which would lead her to believe that he wasn't exactly human. So, if he wasn't a human, what was he? Anna brought her hand up to her mouth and began to gnaw on a nail.

Okay, no idea. Number three- Mr. not-so-human had developed some sort of virus that made it possible to single out transgenics and kill them. Which told her two things; one, he had a grudge against transgenics and two, he was dangerous. But that also meant that he knew about transgenics which would indicate that he was somehow connected with Manticore.

That, of course, would lend credence to the idea that the whole organization was aiming to annihilate their mistake.

Anna's eyes narrowed, she didn't see herself as a mistake. Maybe Cece… but not her.

She shook her head again and tried to concentrate. Ames White was bad, possibly dangerous and was out to get her. Good to know.

What else was she sure about?

Well, she wasn't going back to Terminal Dump heap that was for sure. She was fed up of being looked at with a mixture of hope and disgust. Just because she was Special Ops didn't mean she was special in other ways… and you'd have to be pretty special to want to take over leadership of that rat infested slum.

Anna shuddered at the thought of having to develop people-skills. Not happening in her lifetime. It wasn't what she wanted to do with her newfound freedom.

What she _did_ want to do was get even with this Ames White who had tried to use her as a Guinea Pig.

Anna sat up. What she had to do was to sabotage his virus plans, to find out who sent him, what their agenda was and why they wanted to kill all transgenics. Oh, and then she'd kill his ass.

Anna nodded happy again. She knew she'd feel better with a plan—misinformation, chaos and death—it made a body feel good.

Of course, she'd feel much better with a shower, a change of clothes and food.

On cue her stomach grumbled and she bit her nail again. She had seen a Kwik-e-mart some way down the road and reasoned that she was quick enough to get in and out with food without being seen, or caught.

Anna stood up and headed for the barn door.

The overgrown, hidden track that Anna found herself walking along was something that she had only heard about in books and never thought that she would ever see herself. Honestly, in mid-America one didn't expect to see some gothic-esque shadow path complete with dark tree branches sweeping the ground and tangled thorns like a fence on either side.

It was like something out of one of those ridiculous mystery- horror stories that Mets liked to devour and pretend that he was far too sophisticated to actually read.

Anna ambled down it with a bemused smile and headed for the sounds of traffic, small though they were.

As she neared the road she could smell the smells of civilisation and her steps hurried at the thought of getting her hands on some food— finally.

The Kwik-e-mart was almost empty except for the lanky blond- haired teen, picking his nose and reading some porn magazine that had clearly seen better days.

She headed for the back of the store, hoping to steal her rations unobtrusively.

As she was contemplating the merits of getting caught with crackers or Wheat Thins as opposed to some actual food she heard the door creak and four children walked in.

Normally Anna would have scowled at their temerity to make loud noise when it wasn't warranted and go back to her choice— nutrition vs. nuts—but when her quick glance caught site of the dull grey military fatigues that they were wearing she stopped short.

They were torn, dirty and about three washes away from disintegrating but they were, unmistakably, Manticore casuals; which meant that these brats were Manticore rejects.

Anna folded her arms over her chest and leaned back against the shelf to watch the grubby blonde girl with a pronounced nose pick up one of the boxes of crackers that she had discarded herself.

A broad shouldered boy turned it over and looked at it curiously. "A barcode. What does it mean?"

Anna rolled her eyes. Great, not only were they kids, they were newbies who didn't even know what the barcodes on food boxes were for. She smirked as she wondered what they'd say if they knew that the codes on the boxes had exactly the same purpose as the ones on their necks. It was to tell one product apart from another.

The blonde smiled widely, a gap showing between her front teeth proving that she had a rough time since Manticore was incinerated. "Means it's ours," she said.

She grabbed the box from his hands and stuffed it down her shirt, motioning for the others to do the same.

Anna rolled her eyes again as they took the large packets and made damn sure that they wouldn't escape unnoticed. Really, didn't they learn anything about subtlety in Manticore?

"That's it. Let's go," said the other male with a tremor in his voice.

Before they could take any steps, however, Anna stepped in front of them.

"Gee," she snarled. "It's great to see the young people of today letting the side down. What exactly were you thinking… if you were, indeed, thinking at all?"

The blonde girl wrinkled her nose at Anna. "Who are you?"

"I'm your superior, brat, and I'll thank you to be a bit politer to the person who's gonna stop you getting your asses hauled in front of juvie court for knocking over a Kwik-e-mart!"

"A what?"

Anna rolled her eyes heavenward. "Please, Manticore and Psy-Ops, spare me from adolescents."

All eyes went wide at the admission that she was a fellow Manticorian.

"You're an X-series?"

Anna shook her head. "Give the boy a cracker. The point is, what you guys are doing is what we call… naughty."

"We're starving," the blonde girl moaned.

"You're exposing yourselves," Anna corrected.

"Can't you fix it?" the other girl asked.

"Do I look like an agony aunt?" Anna snapped. "What I can fix is your dumb-headedness. Stealing…where humans can see you is a big no-no. Create a distraction; then pilfer."

"Right and exactly how do we do that?"

"A big zero for you in tactics," Anna said and stalked over to the lanky-haired cashier.

"Hey," she said in her best sultry voice. The man looked up, past her long jean clad legs up to her tank top and fluttering eyes.

"Hey," he breathed and Anna leaned forwards pouting her lips.

As he leaned forwards to meet her Anna reached up and grabbed his neck, pressing down on his windpipe.

His arms flailed briefly and his eyes bugged as he ran out of oxygen.

As he fell unconscious, Anna dropped him to the floor.

"See, distraction," she gestured to the comatose man on the floor and leaned over his body to flip open the cash register, taking out the cash and pocketing it.

She paused and looked at the children. "Well? I thought you said you were hungry." She threw a few carrier bags at them. "Fill 'em up."

With a gleam in their eyes the four children snatched the bags and stuffed as much food as they could into them before following Anna out.

"How long has she been like this?" Zack asked as he trailed his palm over Emma's forehead.

"Since we got out," Zan said leaning against the doorframe of the darkened bedroom. "She wasn't too bad at first, a bit overwhelmed with everyone's thoughts and emotions, but after a few days—" he trailed off.

"Uh huh." Zack's reply was absent as he took the girl's hand in his own. "What's her name?"

"Emma."

"Designation?"

It took Zan a moment to remember it. "X5-148… I think."

Zack nodded. He remembered his first few weeks out of Manticore, thinking the whole world was his enemy, out to get him. He had been brought up to believe that everyone he didn't know was the enemy and out in the big bad world he didn't know anyone.

His first few hours were a medley of nightmarish feelings and frantic close-calls.

Then he had found one of his own—Brin—in the same condition that this Emma was in. It had scared him at the time and he had tried everything to get her back.

Of course, in the long run, it probably hadn't made much difference since she had succumbed to a Manticore induced viral agent anyway. He pushed his mind away from thoughts of his dead baby sister and concentrated on the woman in front of him.

She was beautiful… well; they all were, weren't they? She had short punky red hair growing just past shoulder length, and long limbs that were pale from lack of sun.

She was beautiful and Zack let his hand caress her pale, soft skin.

He took a deep breath. "X5-148, WAKE UP!"

Emma's eyes snapped open.

"Hey, what—?" Zan started in shock, but Zack held his hand up asking for trust and silence.

"You have been asleep for far too long, X5-148," he called loudly. "You are failing your mission. What is important?"

Zan glared at him.

"The misshion," Emma slurred, years of training penetrating the haze caused by her pain.

"In order to function, you need to block your thoughts. What you lack is discipline. Discipline 148. Sit up!"

Emma slowly sat up and Zan's jaw dropped. She hadn't sat up in over two weeks, too weak to even try.

"Inside your head are compartments. Compartments for the senses; smell, taste, touch, sight, hearing and emotives. Are all six of these senses separate?"

"Yessir."

"What?"

"Yes, sir," she said more clearly.

"You have a lazy mind, soldier," Zack yelled making himself flinch. He hated doing this, hated reminding himself of the brutality of his former home. But sometimes their ingrained training was the only way to save them. Kindness and sympathy were all well and good but for soldiers who had been brought up to see them as weakness, they needed discipline rather than compassion to function. "Shut off your sense of smell, soldier—close the compartment. What do you smell?"

"Nothing, sir."

"Shut off your sense of touch, what can you feel?" he rapped on her arm.

"Nothing, sir."

"Shut off your senses of taste and sight. What can you see?"

Emma opened her eyes and stared blankly at the wall where Zan stood. "Nothing, sir."

"Shut off your emotive sense." Zack took a breath. "What do you sense?"

"Nothing, sir." There was wonder in her voice. "Nothing!"

"Open your eyes, Emma," Zack said with a grin. "See, smell, touch and taste, but keep the emotive shut tight."

Emma blinked and straightened up, looking at Zan.

A slow smile spread across her face. "Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

Zan yelped in pleasure and jumped onto the bed, gathering her in his arms for an extended hug.

"Emma!" he choked. "Thank Manticore you are all right."

"No, thank Zack," Zack said seriously and they turned to him as one.

"Emma, Zack." Zan introduced. "He saved your life."

"Relieved," Emma held out her hand.

"Delighted," Zack grinned.

"What was that?" Zan asked gesturing to the two of them.

Zack sat back on the bed and thought about how to phrase what had happened to Emma. "In Manticore we all had certain animalistic traits passed on through our DNA, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Those who had Shark DNA had to sleep less because sharks don't really sleep."

"Yeah, I'd spend all night with Dek or Max and Chance talking," Emma said sleepily as she cuddled up next to Zan.

"Sleep is for more that regeneration," Zack explained. "Sleep allows us to make sense of our day, it allows our thoughts to be integrated into our system and processed. Your Shark DNA wasn't properly regulated because you haven't got anyone around the same DNA structure so your lack of REM sleep was causing you to be unable to assimilate the new emotions and sensations into your body. Basically too much information overloaded your system and without sleep, you were unable to process it."

"Makes sense," Zan said dubiously. "Not exactly a great design feature. I mean there is no telling where she'd be sent on missions and without her Shark DNA pals she'd be essentially useless."

Emma elbowed him sharply in the ribs.

"No offence," he said as he grabbed at his aching side.

"None taken, you big ox."

Zack stared down at the slim girl. "I see you are feeling better then. B.J. will be pleased."

Emma smiled sweetly as she yawned. "Shark DNA or not, I still feel like could sleep for a year."

"I'm sure we could find some handsome prince to wake you up," Zan teased not noticing Emma's eye flicker to Zack's.

"You already did," she whispered.

"Can I just go on record as saying," Isacar said, "that this is a bad idea."

"Seconded," Nyx said dryly as she settled back in the SUV.

"Thirded," Zeph added. "Motion passed."

"Well I think it's great!" Icarus beamed.

"You would," Isacar muttered as he glared at his twin. "But then again, you thought that chocolate pasta was a good idea."

Icarus flushed red. "It was a mistake, an honest mistake but at least I cook!"

"Kids!" Skye pleaded, rubbing her head. She placed her trembling hands on the steering wheel and bit her lip. She wondered what the Greeks would say if they knew that this had been her very first attempt to drive a car. Oh, she had plenty of theory practice and had had a go back at Manticore but this was her first solo attempt. Flex had managed to procure a post-pulse car to enable her to get about more and this was the first time that she had been tempted to use it.

Her hands had shook as she tried to recall which pedal was accelerate and which was break—a fact she had kept quiet from the Greeks sitting in the back. They would have had more to occupy them than their current squabble if they had known that their little lives were in the hands of a woman who had no idea what those little lights on the dashboard meant.

And as if the drive wasn't bad enough now she had to put up with their bickering.

"We all agreed to this to maintain our cover," Skye reminded them as she turned to look at the four faces behind her. They each showed some variance of the sulky teen and Skye felt the sudden urge to send them all to solitary.

Fighting her latent militaristic tendencies she gave them a fake smile. "Think of it as a mission."

"You said we don't have to do missions anymore," Zeph said troubled.

"Then think of it as a game," Skye bit out.

Isacar looked out of the window to the building next to him. "Public schools are the nurseries of all vice and immorality."

"Thank you, Henry Fielding," Skye said dryly recognising the quote. "Well, I was assured that this was a respectable school, they won't worry about missing papers—like birth certificates and stuff. Besides, having school aged kids running around is bound to cause comment."

"I'd like to dispute the school age comment," Nyxie said after putting her hand up.

"Sixteen is still young enough to be in school, chick," Skye rubbed her forehead as she scanned over the building looking at available exits and entrances for her kids.

Her kids. Skye had actual children—how scary was that?

"Okay, looks pretty secure. Have a nice day."

No one moved.

"Scram!"

The doors opened and all four slunk out like they'd rather be back at Manticore.

Zeph turned his bright eyes to Skye. "D-do I hafta?" his bottom lip trembled and Skye forgot herself enough to feel a pang of sympathy with the poor kid.

She got out of the car and crouched down near him.

"Hey, Zeph chin up. It can't be all bad. Here you get to hang out with ones your own age. Okay, you might have to hold back on some of your abilities but at least they're on the same level."

"Yeah. Short," Isacar muttered until Skye's glare cut him off.

"But they won't _be_ my level," Zeph protested, "I'm way smarter than they are. Galen gets to stay with you, why can't I?"

"Because Galen needs more care right now, he still gets scared at loud noises and people frighten him. You, however, are old enough and brave enough," Skye smiled at him and poked his little chest, causing him to giggle. "C'mon, soldier, buck up."

Zeph nodded and then flung his arms around her neck. "You'll come pick us up?"

"Count on it," she vowed.

"If the schmaltz fest is over," Isacar said. "Can we go get some of what passes for education in these primitive conditions?"

Skye rose and ruffled his blond hair. "Get lost."

"Bye, Skye!" Icarus waved and they turned as one to face the school as Skye got into the car and started the engine. Noting their nervous looks she hesitated.

"You'll be okay."

"Sure," Isacar nodded with a gulp, "No problem."

Skye drove away.

"Just us and three hundred hostiles, I see nothing to worry about," he finished dryly.

"Can we count this as a field test?" Icarus said, moving closer to her brother.

"How about an exercise in how not to screw up?" Nyx reminded them forcefully of the reason that they were there. This was part of their cover, they had to excel at this or risk being uncovered and possibly returned to Manticore.

The four of them took a deep breath and almost as one stepped towards the school.

Icarus tried to be her usual chirpy self as they mounted the steps towards the imposing building. "First stop, the Principals office."

"Something," Isacar prophesied, "that will probably be a regular occurrence."

Anna had never really excelled once she had made it into Special Ops. Drew beat her in escape and evade, Steve beat her at seek and destroy and Coco always whipped her in defence, whereas Feen was far and away better at electronics.

She contented herself with the fact that she didn't really care all that much now that she actually there. She was the best of the best. Only the _really _pretentious wanted to be the best of the best of the best.

But no matter what she had always tried to keep a high standard, which meant keeping on top of her game and knowing when she was being followed.

She was being followed.

Normally, this would make her paranoid or apprehensive. Right now she was just annoyed.

She spun around. "Go away!"

"Where?" asked the annoying blonde girl.

"I don't know!"

"You don't know or you don't care?"

"Pick one!" She threw her hands up in the air and walked faster ahead trying to leave the dirty little urchins behind.

Even as she stalked through the undergrowth she could hear their footsteps coming after her.

"Ma'am?" a tiny voice said. "We don't know what to do…or where to go."

Anna sighed and spun on her heel again viewing the faces in front of her. "Honestly, I don't care. I'm not maternal. I don't like children…or old people…or any people. About sixty miles that way is a little town called Seattle, full of other people that I don't like. In fact right in the centre there is a huge rat infested dump heap full of your kind."

"Our kind," said the blonde.

"Baby, I'm one of a kind," snapped Anna. "You, sadly, have made my list of people I actively dislike; it's a short list, getting shorter by the day. My advice? Other than get a hair cut and a shower? Head to Seattle and Terminal city. More X's, more anomalies and at least a hundred dirtier, smellier brats than you."

"You're not coming?" the smallest said in a whining voice.

"Do I look like the pied piper?" Anna growled. "Go. Little street urchins, seek and find mud."

With that parting shot she stomped further, listening to them argue as she lost herself in the forest. She had a plan; she didn't care about some group of whiny Manticore rejects. She was out to kill Ames White and no flea-ridden, grubby, chubby-faced little band of orphan-Annie rejects was going to get in her way.

Except for the one that was in her way.

"Did I stutter?" She demanded of the blonde. "Scram, scarper, vamoose, go, leave, be gone, gehen urlaub, partent, vada via, salga, allez-vous en! Get lost!"

"Impressive," the girl said. "How about this? No. Nein, non, nao, ninguna manera, keine Weisse. No way José!"

Anna regarded the scruffy looking little brat. She looked to be no more than thirteen at most. Her hair was the colour of dirty straw, her nose was turned up and her teeth were too big for her mouth. She was lippy and arrogant and annoying as hell.

"Little girl, I don't have time… nor the patience for this. I don't want you around. Find your scruffy little pals and leave me the hell alone."

"They've gone to find that place, Terminal City. I'm staying here."

"Like hell!"

"No, like this," she latched onto Anna's arm.

Anna flung her off like she was a disease ridden leper.

She was a child and that was close.

"Which part did I lose you on?" Anna rallied furiously. "I. don't. want. You. Around."

"I don't care, you are the first X I have seen since we broke out and I am sticking with you."

"Why is the likkle girlie all scared of being alone?" Anna mocked.

"Yes."

"Tough." Anna stormed past her.

The blonde shrugged and followed.

Hours later, Anna was impressed in spite of herself. Her little blonde shadow had stuck with her pace all day. She must have been tired and Anna was setting a mean pace but the girl was determined not to give up and she had to give her kudos for tenacity.

Despite it being as irritating as hell.

Of course now the night was well along and Anna had stopped for the night.

Whilst the little brats had been pigging out on candy and snacks, Anna had gone into survival mode and had made sure to filch items that she could use later—matches, water bottles, knives, hunting gear—and so she was sitting in front of a roaring fire toasting a rabbit that she had caught a few miles back.

She heard snuffling getting closer to her position and tensed even though she knew it was the blonde.

Anna grinned evilly as she purposely wafted the scent of cooked meat towards where the girl was hiding. She heard a stomach rumble and her grin widened.

"Hmmm, smells good," she said aloud and was rewarded by the small plaintive; "Bitch," from the undergrowth.

Anna chuckled and pulled a long strip of hot meat from the bone and nibbled on it.

From the direction of the bushes came a few sniffles and then the blonde girl pushed open the foliage and stepped into Anna's camp eyeing her dolefully.

"I'm cold," she announced quietly and sat on the dirt ground by the small fire that Anna had managed to get going.

"Is that my problem?" Anna responded and pulled off another strip of meat to chew on.

The blonde stared at her. "You're mean."

"You're catching on," Anna smirked. "Ready to go find your furry little friends?"

"No," the girl said. "I'm sticking around, whether you like it or not."

Anna eyed her thoughtfully.

The girl shuffled closer to the fire and tried to warm her shaking hands.

She watched Anna carefully. "Is…is there any of that left?"

"If there is, I'll package it up for tomorrow." Anna's eyebrows rose in challenge and the girl shrugged.

"I went seven days in training without food."

"Congratulations," Anna said. "Where's your water bottle?"

The girl opened and closed her mouth for a moment and then sagged in half-defeat.

Anna hid her smile and went back to her dinner.

"I could carry your gear for you?" The girl said hopefully. "Or I could be a distraction for when you commandeer things."

"Distraction is right."

"You know statistically civilians are more likely to trust a woman with a child."

"That right?"

"Hmm," the girl was warming to her cause. "We could take turns as lookout so you get some sleep. I could scout locations as I'm smaller and less obvious than you."

Anna didn't answer that.

"I can cook!" the girl tried desperately. "Better than cooked meat, I excelled at Life Skills!"

"Listen, brat," Anna said, "you want to stay with me because you think you'll be safe, right? Well I'm not heading for safety. I'm heading right for the snakes den. There is a nasty man who is out to eliminate all transgenics. He is faster, smarter and stronger than a human and is well funded—which makes him doubly dangerous. He pissed me off and now I am after him. This isn't some pleasure cruise, brat. I'm out for blood…and so's he."

The girl gulped. "I want to stay."

"Then you're an idiot." Anna sat back. "I'm going fast and I'm going hard. I don't like you and that isn't going to change. If you came with me I would expect you to keep up and I wouldn't wait for you if you didn't. You'd get left behind all alone. I would not be nice to you and I wouldn't care if you got hurt…or worse. If you get captured I will not save you and I'll expect you to pull your own weight."

The girl smiled.

"What?"

"You went from 'if' to 'when'."

Anna rolled her eyes. "It changes nothing, brat. You keep up or I'll ditch you. Don't expect me to be nice because it ain't gonna happen."

"Got it!"

Anna eyed her dubiously. "You got a name, brat?"

"A designation."

Anna rolled her eyes. "I think I'll take a leaf out of Max's book and name you… Ralph."

"Ralph," she tried it. "I like it. Why Ralph?"

"Because you make me sick," Anna answered with a glare. "One last proviso, brat, if you speak before I've had my morning coffee I won't be responsible for my actions."

"Okay."

"Scratch that…if you are a morning person you can hit the road right now."

Ralph hid a smile. "I'm not."

"Don't get smart," Anna warned.

"I won't," Ralph vowed and crawled over to where Anna sat on the log. "I'll try not to make you regret it."

"Too late," Anna sighed and handed her some strips of meat.

Zack had finally managed to convince Emma that it would do her the world of good to get out and go for a walk with him.

It would be the first time that she had stepped out since the fire and she was more than slightly dubious about doing so.

She couldn't forget the excruciating pain that lanced through her as she succumbed to the myriad sensations that swamped her before.

She still shuddered when remembering the screams and echoes of pain as they thundered through her veins.

Zack gripped her arm as they made their way down the stairs. He glanced over to her pale face and marvelled that he had only known her a few days. He had sat with her for the past few days, trying to help her block the transmissions form those around her and showing her ways of opening and closing those processes without letting anything else in. He snuck a glance at her quickly.

Her punky hair hung in layers by her cheek and her hands trembled as she clung to him, still feeling a little weak from her confinement. She was an odd mixture of fragility and strength that had him confused.

"Hey," she whispered. "Quit staring, I'm not gonna fall to pieces."

"Good to know, soldier," he said with a rare grin and she felt her heart turn over at the softness that became apparent in his gaze.

"Ready for this?" he asked as he pushed open the door.

"Not in the slightest," she responded. "But I have been reliably informed that if my brain dribbles out of my ears, Zan will have your head on a platter."

Zack nodded. "Message received loud and clear."

He took her hand and led her out into the bright sunshine and Emma blinked.

"Bright," she hissed and covered her eyes.

Protective feelings that Zack hadn't even known he possessed welled up and he pulled her into his chest, shielding her from the sun with his body.

Emma snuggled into the musky warmth of his leather jacket and inhaled the strong cedar smell of his body.

"Hmm," she said quietly and Zack stroked her back. He had become used to her after only a few days and it made him worry.

He had always tried to be the strong one, the one that they could rely on to keep his head in a crisis and not to fall apart. He could not afford sentimentality and that was what this imp of a girl made him feel.

It wasn't allowed in his world and he had to put a stop to it.

Now.

"Ready to try again?"

Emma frowned, not wanting to move away from the comfort that he offered. He pushed her away and she sighed.

"Okay, then."

They stepped forwards into the bright sunshine and Emma held tight to Zack's arm.

"So," she said to break the silence, "where are we headed?"

"Phone box," he said shortly.

"Okay," she tried again. "Why don't you use your cell phone?"

"Traceable."

"Nice day, isn't it?"

"It's okay."

Emma's eyebrows rose. She was all for silence but his monosyllabic answers were frustrating.

"Him, Emma," she said sarcastically, "It's a wonderful day, dear, hey how about those bears?"

Zack blinked. "What bears?"

Emma hid a smile at his bewilderment. He was so adorably clueless.

"Never mind the bears," she said. "How about conversation?"

Zack deliberated for a moment. "Conversation is counterproductive. Our objective is to secure your wellbeing and find a payphone."

"How can you ensure that you have obtained your objective unless you speak to the one whose wellbeing you seek to secure?" Emma countered knowing full well that she had the verbal ability to tie people in knots. It had been a talent of hers that had driven many of her unit crazy- Metz in particular. He had loved to win conversations and expound logic. Emma's ability to take a simple conversation and make you so confused that you ended up defending a position that you originally attacked had left the austere man frustrated beyond all reason… and had been one of Emma's most enjoyable memories; to see the tidy Italian with ruffled hair and frowning face was her most cherished picture.

Zack bit his lip as he stared into the mischievous eyes of the imp by his side. She was baiting him in a way that reminded him of Jondy at her most provoking.

He would not rise to it.

"I can use visual data to determine the validity of my prognosis," he stated.

"A good soldier uses more than one avenue in case one is corrupted."

Frowning Zack countered. "My vision is not corrupted."

"No, but it is from a second party via conjecture, whereas my own opinion is first hand since I am the primary in this case. No soldier works on second hand data so by default you must trust my judgement to ascertain my wellbeing." Emma grinned inwardly as Zack paused.

Dammit. She had a point and that grated more than anything else.

"Fine," he bit out. "Are you okay?"

"Not telling," she teased impishly.

Zack's jaw dropped. "What? Why not?"

Emma shrugged. "I do not feel that your question was properly motivated. My wellbeing isn't paramount to you and I feel slighted by your neglect, oh look, phone box."

Emma leaned against the box giving him her brightest smile.

Zack shook his head in disbelief and walked inside, shooting her an odd look as he closed the door and picking up the phone.

He punched in the number and waited for it to ring.

Ben absently noted the caller ID of the one ringing and fought the urge to roll his eyes.

Zack, of course. For the first time in years Ben was reasonably happy and content and his big brother had to ring to ruin things.

_Well, not tonight, pal._ Ben grinned and shoved his phone into a drawer to muffle the buzz.

"Who was it?" Drew asked from her place on the sofa.

"No one important," Ben said as he came and sat back next to her. Drew swung her legs over the end of the sofa and settled with her head against his chest, picking up the popcorn from the floor.

Ben draped his arm over her shoulders and shifted to get comfortable again. Drew had been in his house for just over two weeks and it was if she belonged there. After their first few forays to find her a new place to live they had laughed so hard and had finally given it up as a bad idea. Now Drew lived with Ben and it felt so right to him. They spent the day in his supply and acquisition business and the nights they either went on heists or snuggled up to watch movies. They spoke long and hard about things that no one else had ever understood, save Max, and found that they had much in common. Their joy at the hunt, the pure thrill of hunting someone else and knowing that they were better.

Of course there were things that they didn't talk about by mutual, unspoken agreement. But everything else was free for all.

To Ben it was like heaven. For too many years he had been left to his own devices, unable and unwilling to have someone else in his life. His big brother had actively discouraged affection and dependence on others and, by necessity; Ben had been forced to keep himself to himself and was never allowed to have someone to call his own. He had been lonely for most of his life.

Until now.

Although he realised that Drew had someone who she cared about deeply; even loved, it was Ben that she stayed with and Ben that she spent all night talking to.

They had come to something of a comfortable relationship that never progressed beyond mild flirtation and innuendo; despite the wishes of either party. Ben knew that he wouldn't jeopardise the feelings of contentment that he had when she was around. He never wanted to feel that lonely again and he was prepared to do whatever it took to keep her in his life.

He switched the movie back on and settled back eager to spend the quiet time wrapped around this woman.

"Hmm!" Drew said as the film progressed.

"What?" Ben asked absently as he watched the nervous man on the screen tap on the door of his date.

"I don't get it!" Drew said in annoyance.

"Get what?" Ben stared down at her dark hair.

"That," she waved at the screen. "The flower thing. I don't get it!"

"What's to get?"

Drew sat up and Ben felt the cold move into the place where her warmth had just been. He felt bereft when she wasn't there. She was quickly becoming an obsession.

She spun to face him. "She doesn't have a garden… she lives seven stories up…what's with the flowers?"

Oh, the movie. "They're a present."

"Yeah," Drew said in frustration. "But what is the point?"

"Point?" Ben looked baffled.

"I get the point of presents. I do. We watched that 'Mummy' thing and he gave her stolen digging tools—useful, practical. Even that 'Pretty Hooker', he gave her jewellery which she could have pawned for cash when she was back on the street. But I don't get flowers. They are neither practical nor useful. They offer no nutritional or intrinsic value. They die in a few days and then all you have are decomposing stems."

"First up," Ben said trying to hold back laughter. "Is it was Pretty Woman, not Pretty Hooker. Second, you don't 'get' flowers?"

"Mets… this guy back at Manticore brought me flowers but I just didn't understand why. Dek brought me a gun. That I got. It was a double action PSS. 7.62 millimetre with a special purpose noiseless cartridge. It was sweet." She smiled softly remembering the kick of that gun.

Ben bit back a laugh at her tender expression even as he felt the bite of jealousy that she spoke with such affection to an unknown male. "Okay, we are a bit different because we are taught to think practically but humans…norms are taught that appearances matter more. That's why they all wear make-up and are worried about the way that they look. Flowers are attractive; they add colour and beauty to any home."

_Like you do,_ he wanted to add.

"But they die so quickly," she protested. "Why would humans want to be reminded that life is transient?"

Ben shrugged. "Most live in the moment, their lives are inconsequential and trivialities please them."

"Huh," Drew considered this. "So aesthetically flowers have a purpose."

"Yeah." Ben nodded. "Although they do say it is the thought that counts. I guess for a guy to buy a woman flowers mean that they actually were thinking of them."

"Huh," Drew nodded at that thought process. She sighed. "I'd still prefer a gun." She settled back against him.

"Me too," Ben agreed and hugged her tightly. "Something else we have in common."

He smiled as she rested her head just below his heart beat and he curved his arms possessively around her body.

Drew was reduced to hysterics when she awoke the next day to find her bedroom full of flowers.

Carrot knocked on the door to the abandoned house and was greeted by a faint snuffling.

"No—no—no nobody home."

Carrot grinned. "It's me, Joshua. It's Carrot."

The door edged open and a flat nosed face poked through the corner turning into a huge smile when it saw who stood there.

"Hah! Carrot fella!"

Carrot looked around. "You have cleared up well, Joshua. This place looks amazing."

And it did. He had obviously taken the time to make sure that his fathers former house was as perfect as it could be and the floors were clean and tidy. But recently he had had taken to moving furniture around so that he gotoptimum reading space.

"Found pictures," Joshua said without preamble. "Father made pictures."

Carrot looked at a painting that was proudly displayed…upside down.

"Nice," he said.

Joshua grinned in pleasure at the praise from his friend.

Carrot turned to the huge dog-man. "Hey, guess what, Joshua old pal?"

"What?"

"We're going out!"

The way that Joshua's eyes lit up let Carrot know exactly how welcome this was to the man who had been shut up in one basement or another for most of his life.

"Out-outside?"

"Uh huh," Carrot grinned as Joshua seemed to suddenly feel the urge to chase after the tail that he didn't have.

"Joshua must get coat…and shoes," He started out one way and paused. "Brush hair." He turned and paused. "Shoes!" He spun in a circle and Carrot covered his mouth to smother the laugh that threatened to erupt.

"Calm down, big guy. We are going to go see Tara and Cece and they really don't care of your hair is brushed," he comforted. "In fact," he paused, "I think its best of you leave it as is, we will still have to disguise you from the common people."

"People scared of what they don't understand," Joshua said knowingly. "Running, screaming."

"Yeah, and mobs and torches and lynching…it's all very complicated." Carrot grinned. "So, you almost ready?"

The walk from Joshua's place to Carrot's apartment took less than twenty minutes and held a kind of frustrated amusement as Joshua insisted on stopping every few steps to peer excitedly at some new item or situation. Carrot was pleased and indulgent to his friend's whims…even if he did balk at letting Joshua sniff hydrants.

Some things went even beyond what the normally placid Carrot felt comfortable with.

People did give the seven foot tall man odd looks but were put off investigating any further by the hurried pace that Carrot tried to set for his friend. They arrived at Carrot's apartment in good time and Joshua was fairly jumping with joy at the opportunity to meet new people.

Carrot entered and allowed Joshua to follow him in, let8ing his friend get accustomed to the new smells and sounds.

"Welcome to Casa del Carrot," Carrot said.

"Casa Carrot," Joshua enthused and couldn't help a small bark of happiness.

"Carrot?"

They turned to see Tara walk into the room, drying her hands on tea-towel.

"Hey there," she greeted Joshua with a smile. "You must be Joshua, I've heard a lot about you."

Joshua ducked his head in partial embarrassment and grinned. "Carrot fella says nice things about Tara."

"Good," Tara leaned back against Carrot. "I must say that I never thought you were that tall."

Joshua stood up straighter, proud of his stature.

"Hey guys, do you have any Chilli's left?"

They turned to watch Cece as she walked out of the kitchen engrossed in a banana sandwich. At their silence she looked up.

"Holy Renfro!" she gasped on seeing Joshua. "You're huge!"

"Joshua," he said pointing at himself.

"Cece," she pointed at herself. "Sandwich." She pointed to her sandwich and took a large bite.

Joshua blinked, bemused and confused at her attitude.

"Oh, ignore Cece," Tara said. "She's pregnant."

"What-what's pregnant?" Joshua asked innocently.

"Uh…it means that she's having a baby."

Joshua shook his head. "She said sandwich."

Tara giggled. "No, she's not eating a baby."

"Although I wouldn't put it past her," Carrot said who had been witness to Cece's odd eating habits these past few days.

Cece glared and swiped at her straw-coloured hair in annoyance. She had been bemoaning the fact that it had grown to past her shoulders and was getting on her nerves. Of course, there was little that she didn't complain of these days.

"What I meant is that she has a person inside her stomach," Tara tried to explain.

Joshua's eyes opened wide in horror and he raked Cece with his wide-eyed gaze before running over and grabbing her waist. He dropped to his knees.

"Get out!" he yelled to her belly and gave her a shake. "Food inside, people outside!"

Carrot fell off the sofa clutching his sides at the look on Cece's face. It was a priceless mix of shock and incredulity mixed with mashed banana which, he knew, would stay with him forever.

Tara wiped her eyes and covered her mouth. "No, Joshua, he's supposed to be in there!"

Joshua stood up and gave her a puppy dog look that begged someone to please explain.

"Sit down, pal," Carrot patted the seat next to him. "I think we need to explain the whole sperm and egg thing?"

"Joshua likes eggs," he said pleasantly. "Fried."

"See, Neanderthal man is alive and well," Cece pointed out.

"No," Tara frowned at her. "Innocence doesn't equal primitivism."

Cece bit down on her sandwich and watched as Carrot was telling a horrified Joshua about the birds and bees…or in their case, the test tube and syringe. His astonished glances to her mid-section were as funny as they were humiliating and she longed for this to be over already, even as she was terrified as to what would happen when it all was.

Her a mother.

_Her_ a mother.

It was inconceivable. It was impossible. It was inevitable.

It was scary.

"So, inside Cece is a small fella who will be a big fella one day?"

"Exactly," Carrot beamed. "Probably this big to start off with." He held his hands apart about twelve inches. "Or smaller."

Joshua shook his head. "Even smaller than little fella."

"Little fella?" Carrot said absently as Tara slid into his arms.

"Uh, Max little fella."

Joshua blinked as attention was suddenly on him.

"You know Max?"

Joshua nodded. "Little fella used to come see Joshua in the basement with the downstairs people. She watched screaming fella and made it all go away. Then when lights and loud noise came, she let us out. All of us out, that was the plan and we blazed!"

"Uh huh," Tara nodded. "Have you seen anything of her since we came out?"

"No," Joshua pouted. "Joshua like little fella, want to see again."

"We do too, pal. If you smell her or hear a thing, you'll tell us right?"

"Will do."

"I wonder what Max would say about this," Cece said morosely pointing to her mid-section.

"Maybe if we find her soon enough, you'll find out."

"How long until new fella?" Joshua asked.

Tara paused, thinking hard. "Well, in humans usually it takes approximately 266 days. But…"

"What?" Cece asked as Tara trailed off.

"Well, I was thinking. Humans take nine months to gestate but would Manticore really want a soldier out of action for almost a year?"

"Not a viable use of merchandise," Carrot saw her point.

"I know that animals have a different time period for gestation, with all our animal DNA it's possible that they programmed something like one of their time frames in, to cut out the long period of inactivity."

"So this could all be over sooner?" Cece wasn't sure whether to be elated or more depressed at that. On the one hand it would all be over, on the other hand it would mean that her nightmare arrived sooner.

"How soon are we talking here?"

"Well, I never made a study but I think that I remember from my mammalian studies that uh, monkeys were 164 days, or sheep were 148 give or take."

"So half the time?" Carrot nodded. "Makes sense."

Tara bit her lip. "But we don't just have mammalian DNA, we have all kinds. Dogs do it in 62 days whereas mice take only 21."

"I don't have mice DNA," Cece said shrilly.

"Be grateful we don't have hamster DNA," Tara said dryly. "16 days total."

Cece shuddered. "Well, that would be last week, so I think I'm safe there."

"Don't elephants take a couple of years to give birth?" Carrot said, sadistically enjoying the scared look on Cece's face.

Joshua frowned. "Let's ask him."

Before anyone else could say a word he knelt by Cece's stomach, this time laying his ear gently against the small curve of her belly.

"Hey, new fella," he whispered. "You joining outside people soon?"

He listened intently, not noticing the tender expression that suddenly covered Cece's face.

He looked up suddenly and grinned. "New fella said when good and ready."

Carrot burst out laughing, followed by Cece and Tara. Joshua beamed and stroked one hand over her mid-section before standing.

"I think with an answer like that, there is no doubt that he is Cece's child. He takes after his mother."

With a wondering look at Joshua Cece touched her stomach and smiled softly.

"Yeah."

* * *

_Thanks to-_

_Silvercat (via email)_

_Nadia (via email)_

_Someone who cares (via email)_

_Lynn-50670-_

_Fangedangel-_

_Crazy- vampire slayer_

_Geminangel_

_Sigma1_

_Messymissy_

_Nicky Latina_

_Snortable sniffy_

_Starr light1_

_Erak_

_Stormvind_

_Jade k_

_Shygirl1_

_Moonlite star_

_Feenian_

_Bluejean452_

_Mae_

_Ganko_

_SGOU_

_Mrs_

_Sweet tweety 06_

_Kim_

_Randg198_

_I love Alec_

_Someone who cares_

_Angel of darkness231_

_Sassycanuck_

_Chaosti_

_SGOU_

_Bruxinha_

_L80bug_


	11. Dark Sarcasm

A/N- I know that it has been over a month since the last update but there is a reason and that is that this is _the_ chapter. The one for which I wrote the whole Pressing Onwards sequel for. I had this one scene on my head since chapter 2 of MAL and I had to get it perfect.

I am not usually given to begging but PLEASE please please please please review and tell me what you think of this chapter. Even one word "bad/good" would suffice. There are 181 people who have this series marked as a fave—so please?

That said. Rating of an "need calming breaths" variety here.

---------------------------------

* * *

**Chapter 11- Dark Sarcasm.**

Ben reached into the freezer and plucked out two iced boxes, he flipped them over checking the use-by date.

"Pizza okay with you?"

"Sure!" Drew called back.

He had left her going over street maps trying to uncover the best place to start a search for her lost siblings. His stomach had started grumbling loudly which interrupted them and Drew had started to giggle.

She had stopped quickly and looked at him in disgust. "I don't giggle…I must be hungry, too."

"I'll make dinner." He'd offered and gone in search of sustenance. Drew had finally given up on the idea of finding somewhere else to live and had settled into his house like she had always been there. For someone like Ben who had been used to having the place to himself it had taken some adjustment but at the same time he had never felt more alive. Drew was funny and smart, she was sassy and she was strong.

It was almost like having Max around and he didn't want to give the girl up, so he had done everything in his power to ensure that she stayed.

Although he had stopped seeing the Blue Lady after talking to Max last time, he had needed something to lean on and so had gone back to talking to her. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that he had felt the need to start sacrificing to her again and this time he was determined not to get caught, to be discreet and to be selective and sparing in his choice of offers.

He had made several offerings to the Blue Lady to thank her for his new friend even though Drew had been suspicious of where he had slipped out to in the middle of the night. He had joked that he didn't think she could, genetically, be his mother and she had let it go with a laugh. He'd have to be more careful as she was as sharp as a knife and he didn't want her to find out what he had been up to.

Despite all that they had in common he suspected that she wouldn't appreciate the…necessity of his actions.

The Blue Lady needed to be appeased or she'd take Drew away. Luckily he had found a penitentiary not too far away and the blue lady had ensured that he was there just as one man tried to escape. Ben had found him more challenging that the last—it always seemed that doomed men were more apt to fight for their freedom, even when it was an illusion.

Ben loved that last look of betrayal on their faces as he slit their throat, in a world that had given them nothing but the bottom rung, it was the last indignity and they showed that they were going out as bitter as they had come in. He had barely had time to wash the blood off his hands before Drew had come in asking him if he was okay, looking oddly at him.

He'd have to be more careful from here on if he was to hide that from her.

As he shut the oven the phone shrilled near his ear. Ben reached for it without thinking. "Yeah?"

"Is that any way to answer the phone?"

_Shit!_ Ben cursed as he recognised his older brother, Zack, on the other end.

"It's how I deter unwanted callers." _Like you,_ he added silently.

"Yeah, listen up, bro, I have news for ya."

"Gee and I thought you'd called to make sure I was okay," Ben added sarcastically.

"I assumed you'd tell me if you were in trouble again, Ben." Came the icy reply to that and Ben felt his temper rise, something that was a regular occurrence when dealing with Zack.

"When was I ever in trouble, _Zack_?" he snapped, leaning against the kitchen door and drawing it closed.

"I didn't call to fight," was the tight reply.

"So what did I do this time?" Ben sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"It's not about you. I wanted to tell you that we've found some fellow Manticore escapees."

Ben froze. "What?"

"We blew the place to high heaven, right up the blue lady's ass!"

"Don't blaspheme," Ben admonished absently. "So, you found some?"

"Yeah, stumbled right onto them in Seattle. And get this; they were in Max's squad!"

"Oh."

Max's squad? That meant that they were in Drew's squad too. Including that "Dek" guy that she talked so wistfully about. He stared at the intersecting door between him and Drew. If he told her about them… about Zack and her squad, she'd want to leave.

"Didn't you hear me? Ben?"

_I heard you, you aggravating asshole, _Ben thought. That was so like Zack, to just come along and take anything good away from Ben's life. It was like he couldn't relax for one moment without his big brother coming along to stick a spoke in things.

"Do they know where she is?" he asked hollowly.

"No," Zack admitted, "but it's only a matter of time until they do! Isn't that great?"

"Fabulous," Ben's voice was as flat as his pizza. Just great, he'd tell Drew and Drew would leave; Zack would make sure that he separated for 'security' reasons and he'd be alone. Again.

"Gee, I'm sorry for interrupting you." Zack's voice sneered at the lack of enthusiasm on Ben's part.

"And I'm sorry you're breathing."

Ben slammed the phone down with a crack of plastic and gripped the counter, his knuckles white with the effort.

Just who the hell did Zack think he was trying to run and ruin Ben's life like this? It wasn't enough that he made sure than he was alone, now he had to take one of the best things in Ben's life away too? It wasn't that he was in love with Drew. Far from it. But she represented everything that he had never had. Companionship, friendship, understanding, loyalty and he'd be double damned to hell and back before he let her go.

There was nothing for it; he'd have to sacrifice to the Blue Lady again to ensure that Drew got to stay with him. He'd go tonight.

The door swung open and Drew peered in.

"I thought I heard the phone," Drew said "Who was it?"

He wasn't losing her; he couldn't stand to be alone again. Not again. He'd have tonight with her and go tomorrow. He'd go in the morning to find his victim and prepare the scene, it'd take a day but after that he could relax. Not tonight though, tonight they'd stay in.

"No one," Ben shrugged and pushed past her, leaving her staring at the contraption crooked and cracked in its cradle.

>>>>>>

The sun was shining, the birds were singing… and it was really annoying Isacar who simply wanted them to shut up so he could read his book. He had found a fascinating volume in the school library on classical mythology and he was reading up on the etymology of his sibling's names.

It was fascinating, the way that they had chosen names that suited them so well, Nyx being a case in point.

She really was born form the chaos of Manticore's destruction and had come to life when Flex and Skye brought her out to live with them.

Of course, she was just as mad about having to go to this school as he was only he was hiding it better.

He glanced up from his tome to check out the playground. It was full to the brim with juvenile delinquents, all intent on wasting their youth through idle play and social interaction. It was as if they were mindless drones, going through the motions of a childhood without any real comprehension of the world around them. Isacar shuddered as he watched two girls aimlessly jump over a rope whilst chanting about some citrus fruit, exactly why did bells owe people money, and weren't the girl fiscally aware that shillings and farthings were defunct currency?

His eyes drifted over to where Nyx stood glaring at a particularly offensive patch of sunlight. Several of her classmates were close by watching her but were put off approaching her because of the huge invisible sign above her head, which proclaimed; 'disturb me and die'.

Icarus, of course, had taken to school like a duck to water and was surrounded by friends who cooed over her hair and personality and made meaningless conversation, all sounding ominously like 'he-said-she's-dead' to Isacar, even with his preternatural hearing.

Zephyr was doing a wonderful impression of a monkey and racing through the obstacle course like he was on speed. He, too, had made friends as if they were going out of fashion and was currently hanging upside down on the climbing frame demonstrating that it was actually possible to eat potato chips upside down.

A highly underrated skill.

Isacar yawned and went back to his book, trying to forget the humiliating lessons with his supposed "teachers" this morning. All they actually taught him was to despair for the future of humankind. Of what possible use was listing verbatim facts and figures of historical figures that had ceased to have meaning in his life?

Under what context would he possibly need to know that the Battle of Hastings was in 1066? It wasn't something that cropped up in conversation. King Harold's failure to recognise the fundamental protection of headgear and the safety aspects that it held for bikers today—yes, he could see that as being of use.

Likewise he was unable to fathom why they were required to name all six perpetrators of the post-pulse civil war whilst ignoring the possible parallels of the Post Pulse world to that of twentieth century pop-culture references of the nuclear apocalypse. Surely dissecting Tzu Yung's Art of War was far more advantageous than re-reading Romeo and Juliet?

Isacar shook his head and turned the page of his book. He could understand why Skye and Flex had decided that they need to go to school to maintain cover, but he just wished that it wasn't so mind numbingly boring.

The faint whistle of air was the only thing that clued him in to his current predicament and he swayed left, letting the football fly past his head, not moving his eyes from the text he was absorbed in.

He heard footsteps running towards him and stop not five feet away.

"Hey look, guys, it's the pansy-boy."

Isacar turned the page.

"Wanna play?" the other boy asked.

"No thank you," Isacar said politely. "I wish to expand my mind, not my tendons."

"Okay," he turned to leave but his friend stood there staring at Isacar on disgust.

"Why don't ya wanna play? It's sissy to read a book when you could be kicking a ball, dude."

Isacar resisted the urge to roll his eyes and simply turned a page. "I thank you for your offer but I would rather read."

"You're new, right?"

Isacar nodded, looking up at them curiously between the blond strands.

"What's your name?"

"Isacar."

"Isa-what now?"

"Isacar: it's Greek."

Anyone who knew him would have realised that he was getting annoyed with the line of questioning. His name was something that he was proud of, and he didn't want anyone to disparage the thing that made him more than just another number.

"I thank you for the kind offer to join you in… your pursuits," Isacar looked at the leather ball and grimaced. "However, I am forced to turn you down. I don't do sports."

At least not any more. Hours of enforced drills and endless training flashed through his mind. He'd always been disciplined for not wanting to join in and had been in solitary more often than not, and for what? Sneaking off to finish a book, or head to the library. He'd been punished by endless laps and push ups and chasing a pig's bladder around a field was as close to his own personal hell as he could get.

No, now that he had a chance and a choice he'd rather not.

The dark-haired boy seemed to get annoyed at that. "You're just afraid that we can kick your ass. Hey, Joe, he's obviously a momma's boy, baby. Doesn't wanna mess up his precious hair, that it?"

Isacar swept one long tendril of blond hair out of his eyes, he'd been polite and now he was finished with them. He ran his finger over the page ignoring the boys that stood over him.

Interesting, he hadn't known that Zeus meant _shine _or _sky_ in Greek. That meant that Skye could, in theory, be another 'Greek'. Flex couldn't, of course, there was no such name.

The boy stared almost bewilderedly at him. "Hey, pansy, I was talking to you."

"Really?" Isacar drawled without looking up, "I assumed you were insulting me to your friends, my participation isn't necessary in that regard."

"Ooh 'in that regard'!" the boy sneered. "You stuck up asshole."

"Unlike yourselves, I do not partake in sodomy."

The boy blinked, not sure if he was being insulted. "You think you're too good to play ball?"

"C'mon Tommy, leave him alone," another boy intervened. "He's not worth it."

"He's nothing but a pansy-ass anyway," Tommy spat.

Isacar knew that he should let the boy go, he knew it. It was coarse to get into an argument with a lower species, it really was. There was no way he'd open his moth and—

"Yes, please vacate my presence, I'd find it hard to conduct a battle of wits with someone who isn't armed. I'd prefer to trade barbs with someone who had more than two brain cells to rub together. Run along and play with your monkey-friend."

The two boys froze and turned to him. "What did you say?"

"Oh, excuse me, did my words of more than two syllables disconcert you? I'd try to dumb down to your level…but even Dante had his limits."

Across the playground Nyx suddenly felt a strange sense of foreboding and looked up from her arithmetic homework. It wasn't that it was hard…or even challenging, but she was trying to see if doing it upside down and backwards made any difference to how long it took to do.

Nyx could feel eyes on her, but that was nothing new. Since she had joined the sixth year class people had stared at her. She assumed that it was because she was new and different and didn't really care about the fashions and their idle gossip. She kept her head down and her mouth shut, which was the best way.

The way that stopped you getting hurt.

Shaking off the memories and melancholy thoughts stretched and scanned the playground ignoring the few teens that kept sending her odd glances. Her heart sank as she spotted one of her brethren and recognised the smirk on Isacar's face, pointing to the fact that he was being his most aggravating.

The two boys that stood in front of him didn't seem to find him amusing and Nyx placed a marker in her work, before standing up and walking across the grounds.

"So, Brad asked me out and I totally said yes, even though I knew he really wanted to go with Stacy, but she was going with Adam, so I was like, so in there!"

Icarus nodded again, keeping the beaming smile on her lips even as she wondered if anyone would mind if Claudia's head suddenly came off her shoulders. It wasn't like there was anything valuable in there.

Would it break their cover if she were to hide the body? Surely Flex wouldn't begrudge her the teeny tiny satisfaction of murder? It wasn't like it was always a crime anyway.

"So, Icarus, who's asked you to the dance?"

_Brad,_ she thought with a grin_, and Adam, and Mark and Dave and just about every guy in the year._

"Oh, I don't really know anyone yet, Claudia," she lied smoothly. "I guess I'm not as popular as you."

Claudia visibly preened and Icarus was hard pressed not to laugh. Claudia flicked her hair behind her ear and gave Icarus an approving and patronising smile.

"Well, I think you should go with Graham, because he totally—"

Icarus was no longer listening, or even pretending to. She had just felt a low sinking in her stomach that told her there was trouble ahead. She glanced around to see Nyx striding determinedly across the playground and her eyes found a gang of boys making their way over to Isacar.

_Oh, great!_

Ignoring her new friend's startled exclamation she turned and followed Nyx.

"Maybe what pretty boy wants is to have his face re-arranged so he can get out of Phys-Ed, is that it?"

"Ignore it, Tommy; the fag is just cruising for some contact."

Isacar let out a long breath as he regarded the growing number of boys surrounding him.

When would he learn that his smart mouth would only get him into more trouble? Still, it wasn't like he could get in much deeper.

"Listen, I hesitate to call you gentlemen, because," he looked Tommy up and down dismissively, "honestly. I have no wish to fight, at all. I prefer my comforts in intellectuality. You obviously have baser needs and on that, we probably need to disagree."

"Well, I might not be as smart as you, but I know that my baser needs need to shut that smart ass mouth of yours." There was obviously one in his audience that had a vocabulary of more than monosyllabic words.

Isacar winced.

"Did he diss us, Angelo?"

"Yeah," the boy, Angelo, nodded with a slight smile. "Wicked well, actually."

"Let's kick his ass!"

Isacar braced himself and felt his shoulders relax into the too familiar fighting stance even as Tommy brought his fist forwards—

— Only to be stopped by another hand catching hold of his in mid-flight.

"Problem?"

Tommy looked up into the dark eyes of Nyx.

Isacar held back a grin at the sight of tall, slender Nyx standing over the figure of his torment.

Tommy's eyes swept over her in a maddened leer and met her eyes. "Nothing that concerns you."

"I beg to differ," she said icily. "You were about to hit him."

Isacar smirked.

"That's my job."

His face dropped.

"He's an arrogant ass and yes, his mouth runs away with him too often for his own good, but he's under my protection which means that you," she motioned to them all, "can't touch him. No matter how annoying he's being."

Isacar let his guard drop slightly.

"Now, Isacar, apologise to the boys."

"My gravest apologies!" he bowed deeply in mocking amusement, not seeing her other hand come back around and slap the back of his head.

"Properly," she said as though she hadn't just hit him.

"Ow! Sorry," he repeated mutinously.

"Shall we leave it at that?" She dropped his fist and gave a small smile.

"Whatever," Angelo started to walk away.

"Yeah, just a shame that pansy-ass needs a sissy girl to defend him."

"Uh-oh," Isacar said under his breath as he watched Nyx's eyes dilate.

"Excuse me?" she said, her voice creeping past icy and heading into artic territory.

"I mean, you're cute and all, but can't wuss fight his own battles? He needs to get his babysitter to pamper him." Tommy laughed and his friends joined him.

"Yeah, need a girl to stand behind!"

"Wimp!"

"Like she could do anything either."

Nyx's hands slowly made their way to her waist as she grew annoyed.

_Cute? Cute!_ She thought in disgust. _That is what you get for appealing to lower life-forms._

"Listen to me, you sad excuse for a species, I have no inclination to get kicked out of this school. However, my overwhelming desire to kick your ass is steadily passing that point. My advice? Shut up; bail out and leave us both alone."

Tommy grinned. "And what if we don't?"

Nyx took a deep breath and let her eyes drift half-closed. "Then we'll—"

"—make you sorry." Isacar wouldn't let Nyx do this for him. It was his fault for being a smart ass.

"Yeah?" Tommy sneered. "You and who's army?"

"That'd be me!"

They all looked down to se a dark-blond haired boy glaring up.

"Oh. Look, it's the shrimp parade!"

Zeph glowered. "The only sea-life around here is the jelly-fish in front of me."

"What do we call a jelly-fish?" Isacar asked. "It's structural composition?"

"Invertebrate," Zeph responded immediately. "Because it has no spine.

"Well done," Isacar said proudly to his little charge.

"Ooooh!" Tommy mocked. "Lookee, guys, the bookworm has a girl and a shrimp in his corner. That's three. There are nine of us."

"I'm almost impressed," Isacar said, "I didn't think you could count that high."

"Think we should let them surrender?" Zeph asked Nyx innocently.

"No pain, no gain," she replied and they slid so that they were standing sidewise on, ready for attack on all fronts.

Zeph raised his fists.

"Losers!" Tommy said dismissively and poked Isacar in the head with a forefinger. Quick as a flash Isacar grabbed his wrist and twisted it up behind his back.

"Hey!" another boy yelled in surprise, seeing their leader incapacitated. He swung out at Isacar, only to be stopped by Nyx's elbow to the stomach.

As if this was a signal, all nine boys attacked the three of them at once.

Zeph's lightning reflexes came in handy as he stomped on the foot of one boy. Another grabbed his hair and attempted to lift him off his feet, only to find an irate Isacar protecting the boy with fast, furious fists.

Nyx swung in a circle, her long dark hair flying behind her as she kicked one boy in the mid-section, whilst karate chopping another on the shoulder, she heard a grunt and knew that she had exerted enough pressure to hurt but not to harm.

She was well aware that Flex would be furious at them for breaking their cover.

She saw Zeph about to use a blow that would have given the opposer a shattered spine.

"Zeph," she hissed as she slapped his wrist away from the boy's back. "Incapacitate but don't injure!"

Zeph nodded quickly, understanding her point and changed the trajectory of his punch to bruise ribs rather than paralyse his opponent.

Icarus stood to one side and watched as Isacar was attacked by three boys at once, she bit her lip and debated joining in. Isacar slipped his way through his attackers like he was quick sand and Icarus had a flashback to fighting at Manticore and suddenly grew annoyed with her team-mates. Hadn't they had enough of always fighting and getting dirty and bloodied? She had seen more broken bones and gushing wounds than any thirteen year old girl had a right to and she was through with it.

So, why did she feel guilty as she watched them?

Zeph slid down to the floor, through the tangle of legs, and scissor-kicked another boy, knocking him down in a tumble of bodies. He then flipped over and bit the nearest ankle, listening to the screams above him with glee.

"ENOUGH!"

The fighting quickly halted as the shrill voice echoed and all nine boys crawled, limped or scampered away leaving the three Greek's standing back to back in fighting stance, awaiting another attack.

They looked up to see a mountain of a woman standing above them.

"This is an OUTRAGE!" she yelled. "There is to be no fighting in the playground!"

Seeing that the danger had passed, Nyx dropped her stance and was followed by Isacar and Zeph.

"Excuse us, ma'am," she said respectfully. "Who are you?"

"I am Miss Lashbury, the duty monitor. You must be the new children."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, I don't know where you come from, but fighting is not permitted here!"

"We come from an orphanage, ma'am," Nyx replied coolly. "Fighting for survival was a way of life. We only retaliate in self-defence. I think you'll find that it wasn't us who threw the first punch."

"It's true," Angelo said, walking back over. "Tommy attacked first."

"However he was provoked," Isacar admitted realising, tactically, that it wouldn't do to get the head bully in trouble in his second week. "It was my fault."

"I see," Miss Lashbury frowned down at him and at a heavily breathing Tommy. "Well done for owning up, young man, but I am afraid that I have no choice but to discipline you both."

_Discipline you._

Isacar's hands curled into fists as the words echoed in his head; visions of solitary confinement, whips and drowning coming to his head.

There was no way he was going through that again. He'd die first.

"How?" he asked coolly, ready to take flight.

"Both of you will miss Physical Education this afternoon and spend the hour with me in the library."

"Library?" Tommy gasped. "Doing what?"

"Filing, shelving, lines," she said.

Isacar's mouth slowly stretched into a grin. "Oh…oh dear!"

Tommy glared at him, fully aware that this constituted no punishment to the blond.

"I'll expect you both during third period."

"We'll be there!" Isacar said, just managing to hold back a smirk as the woman walked away.

Tommy gave him a scrutinizing look. "What did you own up for? No one else knew you were a smart ass."

"Because I can see that people like you," Isacar said seriously and then grinned. "Besides, I'm a smart ass!"

Tommy grinned despite himself. "You also hit hard, dude. Truce?"

He held out a hand and Isacar was quick to capture it. "Truce."

"Okay, see ya later for book duty," Tommy grimaced in distaste and walked back to his friends.

Nyx and Zephyr made their way over to Isacar.

"Your mouth is going to be the end of you," Nyx prophesised.

"Yeah," Zeph agreed pushing his hair away from his face. "But that was fun!"

Isacar absently leaned down and ruffled his hair. "Thanks for coming to my rescue all the same."

Zeph looked up at him. "Does this mean that we are like family now?"

Isacar shuddered at the sentimentality. "My heart bleeds buttermilk to the sound of the world's smallest violin."

"What?" Zeph wrinkled his nose.

"It's sarcasm, titch," Isacar said. "That statement was so saccharine I was crying on the inside!"

"You'll be crying on the outside if you don't learn to watch your mouth," Nyx warned.

"Pff!" Isacar dismissed rudely.

"I'll tell Flex!" she bit back a small smile at the teasing.

"Ooh, she's going to tell Daddy!" Isacar mocked and then his face fell as he considered that. "You won't, will you?"

"Doofus!" She couldn't prevent a small smile as she walked away.

They watched her walk away Zeph cocked his head at Isacar.

"You didn't answer my question."

Isacar looked down at the small dynamo. "Do you want a family after Manticore? I mean they didn't do us any favours in the sibling stakes."

"Yeah but we chose each other and I like you," he said with usual forthright honesty. "Plus it would be cool to be able to call you my big brother." Zeph looked at his feet. "When we were in barracks I always used to pretend that I had an older brother and he was always like you."

Despite himself Isacar was touched. "I… I guess that'd be okay, squirt."

"Thanks, brother!" Zeph beamed.

"Now get out of here!" Isacar said in affectionate embarrassment. "You'll ruin my reputation."

"Gotcha!" Zeph ran away as fast as was allowed by his new family.

"Cute," Icarus said from behind him. "Very cute, I didn't know you did schmaltzy sentimentality, Issy."

Isacar frowned to himself, not turning to look at his real sister. "Yeah well, at least he seems to have some conception of familial loyalty." He turned and pinned her with a cool look. "Unlike some."

"I'm sick of fighting," she spat crossing her arms defensively against her chest. "Excuse me for having had enough bloodshed to last several lifetimes."

Isacar sighed looking disappointedly at her. "You think we're not all sick of it, Cari?"

Icarus' face fell and she looked down knowing that he had been as sick of Manticore as she had. "Sorry."

He stepped forward and placed an arm around her shoulder. "No, I am. I understand wanting to forget, trust me. I think I surpassed a few records for punitive service in old M. But we have to look out for each other, now."

Icarus nodded. "Am I forgiven?"

"Course," Isacar planted a kiss on her forehead before pushing her away, letting her go back to her friends.

He rolled his eyes. "Three months with this bunch and I'm turning into one of the Brady bunch. I make myself sick." He picked up his book. "Any more of the saccharine and I'll register myself a diabetic. Ugh!"

>>>>>

"Drew, I'm going out, I'll be back some time tonight." Ben said as he shrugged on his jacket. Drew looked up from her sector maps at the darkened skies.

"It looks like rain," she said doubtfully. "Are you sure you want to be out in that?"

"I'm only partially kitty cat," Ben said amusedly. "I can take a shower and even get wet without melting, mom."

Drew shrugged one shoulder. "Have it your way then, pal. Just don't come crying to me when your gel gets wet."

"Thanks for the sympathy," Ben leaned over and brushed a kiss against her forehead. "Later."

"Yeah." She turned back to her maps waiting tensely until she heard the front door click shut.

As soon as the echo of his feet faded down the corridor she relaxed, her shoulders slumping as she let out a breath.

Ben had been acting strangely for the last few weeks, watching her intensely and acting shiftily around her. Some days it was all she could do to get out his sight and others days it felt like he watched every move she made. It was unnerving, even for someone who had been accustomed to having their movements traced by an unseen party.

Then one night, a week ago, Ben had come home smelling of blood; fresh blood, and it was strong, heavy and, more importantly, not his.

He had said that he had just been out walking but Drew had noted the tears on his clothes, the scent of stainless steel and the grass on his trousers.

Sometimes it appeared that Ben forgot that he was dealing with another transgenic, one with superior sense of smell and sight that even he had. There was no way that could have masked the fact that he had been out somewhere where there was a lot of blood, or that the serrations on his palm meant that he had been holding a weapon of some sort. Add the two pieces of information together and you got a Drew who was tense enough to bounce quarters off.

She wrung her hands together and stood up, moving slowly towards the door. She leaned against the dark wood and listened intently to make sure that his footsteps had echoed away. She crossed over to the window and stared down at the darkening street. It was only early yet, not even eleven am and yet it was almost as if the night refused to let go of it. She spotted Ben's silhouette walking across the street and she back into the wall next to the window, so he wouldn't see her if he looked back.

Part of her was thinking that it was crazy to hide away from the man who had given her food and shelter free of charge and yet there was a part of her that was screaming to be heard. It was the part that had she had always trusted in and she saw no need to hide from it or disregard it now.

As she watched Ben's shadow move further into the distance, Drew took a deep breath and stared back towards the room that she had never been in: Ben's room.

Did she really have just cause to search his room? Did she really have the nerve to ignore all that he had done for her and ransack his room, betraying his privacy?

Drew worried her bottom lip and thought about doing it. Just walking into Ben's bedroom and rifling through his things. He'd know, of course he would, and maybe that would be the end of their tentative friendship.

Was it worth it? Just to allay her fears and suspicions?

She looked down at his denim jacket lying on the floor by the window. Reaching down to feel the soft blue material she smiled, thinking of him tucking her up when she had fallen asleep on the sofa, making her dinner and tickling her until she cried.

Was it worth it?

Drew bent to put the jacket back on the floor, only to spot a deep rust stain on the sleeve.

She brought it to her nose, her heart pounding and hands shaking.

Blood.

Unmistakably blood.

And it wasn't Ben's.

Drew dropped the coat and stepped back, almost afraid.

Then her gaze swung to Ben's door.

>>>>>>

Anna slowly came to awareness with a heightened sense that someone was hovering over her. Her training too over and she kept perfectly still and waited silently for whoever it was to come closer.

A tiny crack of a twig signalled that the person was almost by her head and Anna's hand shot out, grabbing a slender ankle and yanking hard.

A muffled shriek cleared the last vestiges of sleep away from her and she regarded her fallen companion with bemused frustration. "Ralph."

"Sorry!" squeaked the blonde girl. "I was just seeing if you wanted breakfast."

Anna eyed her. She had been travelling with the annoying child for two weeks now; two whole weeks of the irritating, chirpy little miss and her constant chatter and beaming platitudes.

She couldn't forget the first morning that Ralph had woken her up with a happy "Rise and shine!" only to be informed that, although she might rise, Anna never shone and if Ralph didn't tone down the enthusiasm before her first cup of coffee Ann would hurt her so bad that she'd long for Psy-Ops.

Ralph had realised pretty soon that if she wished to walk without limping for the day then she'd serve morning coffee and keep her mouth shut. Other than a few minor altercations (which including Ralph being thrown into a lake fully dressed and Ralph being bound and gagged for a night) they got along just fine.

Anna sat up and let Ralph crawl to her knees, sitting a few feet away from Anna. She looked up at the dark grey skies and shivered as she realised that today would be another rainy, miserable day in the forest.

"So," Ralph started carefully. "What's today's plan?"

"Coffee!" Anna growled and Ralph scampered off resentfully.

For two weeks Anna had been on the trail of Ames White and finally a few days ago they had received information regarding his whereabouts. They had met a peddler who traded up and down the coast and he had told them of a military base a few miles away that was manned 24 hours a day. Nothing unusual there, but he had also mentioned that he had tried to sell shoe shine to a short man in a suit but had been scared off by the mans demeanour.

A little further digging led to the knowledge that the base had been decommissioned years ago and had actually been an area of scientific research; genetics.

The two things snapped together in Anna's mind like an easy jigsaw and her lips pursed as she thought of the connotations of Ames White being that close to a genetics centre.

It didn't add up to peace of mind and she had been determined, once and for all, to put a stop to this guy.

"Oops!"

She rolled her eyes. She'd save the world, after she rescued her coffee from her walking disaster of an assistant.

>>>>>>

Spending the day searching for a fitting sacrifice was enough to give Ben the worst kind of headache. He hadn't been able to tear himself away from Drew until late morning, it had been almost eleven and now it was well after six. He'd have to give up the search soon if he couldn't find anyone worthy.

It wasn't like he could give the Blue Lady less than what she deserved if he meant to keep Drew.

Ben sagged against the door of the confessional and tapped his forehead on the panelled wood.

"I am in, my son."

Ben started, not expecting anyone to talk to him. He registered that the voice had come from inside the confessional and he stepped inside without hesitating. The Blue Lady would always point the way.

He sat on the tiny little bench and closed the door behind him wondering if everyone who came in here felt claustrophobic.

Maybe that was why these things were so small, to make you feel closed in by their sins and try to absolve yourself by expunging them.

"In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. And how long has it been since your last confession?"

Ben grinned. "I've never been to confession."

"You're not a Catholic?" The priest said almost distrustfully.

"No. But I do have faith in the Lady," Ben replied honestly. He did have faith in her; utmost faith that she would set matters straight and help him out. She had rarely failed him. As long as he kept up his worship.

"Our blessed Lady."

"Yes." Ben agreed, wondering what the man would say next.

"Well, why don't you tell me your sins, then?"

Ben wanted to scoff, 'who are you to forgive me?' 'Who are you to tell me that what I've done is right or wrong?' Suddenly he wanted to shake up this man.

"I've killed," he said with direct bluntness.

He could almost see the priest freeze in his silly wooden chair.

"Go on," he said coolly.

_What_? "I've taken human life. What more is there to say?" Ben said incredulously.

"Murder is a grave sin, yes. But killing in self-defence, or to prevent an injustice, like when a policeman or soldier –"

"I'm a soldier," Ben qualified.

"I see." Ben heard the relief in the man's voice and felt indebted to add.

"Killing is what I was trained to do."

"You're troubled by it. That's why you're here now."

Troubled in the way that he needed to do it again and quickly. It seemed that he had to do more and more to appease the Blue Lady these days.

"Sometimes I feel the Lady's given up on me." He hadn't realised that he had spoken out loud until the Priest replied.

"No. She never gives up on any of us. We have to have faith in her."

"I try!" Ben was heartfelt. He had **_tried._** He had tried to believe when he was in Manticore surrounded by death and torture. He had tried to believe when he had been forced to escape the only home that he had ever known and been pushed out into the world all by himself; a world that was so scary and hostile to a small boy with above average intelligence and no social skills.

He had tried to believe when he was alone and hurting and there was no one to make him feel better. He had tried when he was bleeding, battered and centimetres away from dying. He had only lapsed when he'd seen Max and she had told him that he didn't need to Blue Lady. He had only gone back to her because he had needed someone so badly and two days after he sacrificed to her, Drew had come into his life.

She had rewarded him with a friend and now he had to do all he could to keep her.

"We have to put our lives in her hands."

He would do anything to keep her.

Anything.

"Is your life in her hands?" he slid back into the comfortable soldier mode, the one that told him that all was well. It was the place he went when he killed, the place he went when he was lonely or tortured. It was the calm place, the high place in his own mind.

"She's always at my side."

The man's faith was touching. Very touching, it almost made him regret.

"She protects you?"

"She's always there to help me."

If she had protected him then she wouldn't have led Ben to him. She would have made him remain silent and then Ben would never have known that he was there. It seemed that the Lady didn't smile on the priest as she did on Ben.

He grinned evilly.

"Then you've got nothing to be afraid of."

_Except me. _His hand shot forwards, crashing through the wooden slats and touched flesh. His fingers tightened convulsively on the creamy white throat and he squeezed.

>>>>>>

Pix stood on the edge of the roof and stared out at the rooftops that littered the skyline between here and the glowing orange horizon. Two weeks ago he had no other worries than how to stop Chance from spiralling into depression and now he was in charge of an entire nation. How did things get so out of control?

After he had set up the latest security detail he had gone for a walk, just wandering the streets of Terminal City and what he had seen had scared him.

There were children, younger than any he had seen in his life, they had no shoes, they had next to no food, they were dirty and scampered about like little lost souls their hearts broken and trust destroyed and yet… and yet they had looked to him with such hope as he walked by.

It was humbling, it was heartrending, it was… frightening.

The heights of Terminal City had seemed like the perfect place to come to brood and as he stood there he wondered what Anna was doing now. Was this why she had left? Did she too get tired of the expectations of everyone? Did she fear the trust and belief that shone in the faces of those who should know better?

Dammit, he thought that those kind of namby-pamby hope issues were drummed out of you before you were potty trained!

He slumped to the floor and draped his arms over his knees, dropping his head into one hand, his elbow digging into his knee.

What was he doing? What did he know of leading? He had always been a follower, he had followed Max and Alec's lead and he had provided the comic relief. He was no one's idea of salvation.

He was Pix. Named for mischievous sprites and hell-raisers.

He was court jester; he was the laugh-a-minute-never-take-anything-seriously guy. He wasn't Max! He wasn't Alec! Hell, he wasn't even Skye who commanded obedience through sheer cussedness.

What if he couldn't cut it? What if he let everyone down?

A sudden vision overwhelmed him, filling him with horror.

_The military had got wind of the base. Some human had noticed strange men going in and out and had called the government. Manticore had decide that they weren't worth the risk and had initiated full denial… and ordered their deaths._

_They launched an offence with grenades and gas. It was like the fire at Manticore all over again, but this time, instead of Max and Alec being there to shepherd people out, it had been left to Pix._

_Pix let them down. He couldn't speak in time, he could co-ordinate and no one listened to him._

_The military rushed the gates, taking out the few guards on security detail, then they swarmed in with guns blazing and the transgenics were caught unaware._

_Pix was shot in the stomach and was left to die, his eyes taking in all around him, even though he could do nothing to stop it._

_Dix was mowed down in a barrage of bullets, his monocle smashed by his side and Mole was lying face down, his cigar crushed and hole in his back from the blade of a bayonet. Luke was killed by an exploding shell, his limbs no longer together and Chance, his beautiful Chance was left in a pool of blood where she had fallen._

_Feen was lying over Techie's body, her arms stretched out to protect him even in death._

_The small girl that had looked to him with such trust lay outside in the wreckage of what had once been her shack, her hands still clutching a tattered doll, its hair matted with her blood._

_They killed everybody, man, woman and child. They left no one alive and Pix's eyes closed in death._

The vision ended and Pix's shoulders shook in silent sobs; crying his fear and pain to the heavens.

>>>>>

Drew had just about exhausted all avenues. She had gone through Ben's drawers and under the bed. She had slid her fingers over every inch of the mattress and over the bed frame. She had all but dismantled the wooden bedside cabinets and found no hidden compartments. She had rifled through every pocket and zip compartment in all his clothes, felt along the lining and probed his shoes, feeling every inch the voyeur. She had been through every cupboard and knocked every floorboard. She had moved to the kitchen, the bathroom, the linen closet, the dining room. Nothing.

She had been through each and every room like a professional and found nothing more incriminating than a stack of porn and a stash of marshmallows.

She made her way tiredly back to his room, absently noting that it was almost eight o' clock. She had managed to put his room back in some sort of order but there was no lying to a transgenic. He would know that she had been in here, either through her scent or the fact that most of his possessions had moved, and she would have to come up with a pretty good excuse to get out of trouble.

She slumped to the floor, her back against the wall and slammed the back of her head against it in frustration.

This was stupid! Her ridiculous suspicions would drive a wedge between her and Ben for good and it was all her fault.

She sighed and looked up, wondering what she was going to say to him about all this.

She was staring up for a good ten minutes, lost in thought, before she realised what it was that she was staring at.

The ceiling tile above his bed was slightly askew.

Not so much that you'd notice it, unless you were looking intently; but enough so that it registered.

She glanced down. If you stood on the edge of the bed you could reach the ceiling, especially if you were Ben's height.

She slowly stood up, wondering if it was really rats that she had heard scampering about overhead at night.

Swallowing hard Drew stood on the bed and balanced on the frame, reaching high above her head to shift the white ceiling tile.

The rough panel moved under her hand and she dropped it carelessly onto the bed, looking up into the dark space above her head. Drew reached up, grasping the edge with her hands and pulled herself up into the ceiling.

She had never realised that there was still an attic up here as the other entrance had been painted over years ago and she had ensured that the paint hadn't been disturbed.

Clever Ben had found another entrance.

_What are you hiding, Ben?_

She reached above her head and touched a rough wooden beam and felt her fingers touch smooth glass.

It was an old fashioned metal lantern with a turn key. Drew twisted the cold metal and a faint glow illuminated the room.

She stepped onto the hardwood beams and they creaked as her weight pushed on the fragile support.

A shiny surface reflected on the far wall and she stepped forwards, her mouth dry as she entered the darkness beyond the shadows.

As her eyes came accustomed to the lack of light, she could see what it was that had captured her interest.

There was a statue in one corner on a table, surrounded by photographs and pictures. Drew inched closer, her mind screaming at her to move away, to leave, to run.

As far and as fast as she could.

She moved the last few inches and the light cleared to reveal the face of the statue. It was a lady, a lady in blue robes with a golden halo surrounding her face. She stood tall and strong but with her head bowed in humility. The pictures and photo's of the same statue in different poses and mediums scattered the walls behind her along with others.

Drew touched the pictures behind the lady's head; pictures of boys and girls that she didn't know but whose stern demeanour and shaven heads clued her in to their identity; pictures of herself that she hadn't realised had been taken, her laughing, her looking elsewhere, her walking across the street.

It was strange that the apparent violation of her privacy didn't bother her much, but the pictures of shaven headed-children and the newspaper clippings proclaiming that this one had gone missing and that this one was wanted for shop lifting, moved her—unnerved her.

Her eyes fell on one picture and she reached up to pluck it from the wall, staring at it with dawning horror. It was of her asleep, in her room.

Ben had been watching her in her sleep. He had been in her room and he had thought enough of her to place her on this wall along wit the others that he seemingly revered. It was eerie, it was creepy.

It was bloodcurdling as hell.

As if the word had conjured something else, something tugged her attention.

She looked back up and took a step back realising that the shininess she had noted wasn't the pictures reflecting in the gloom. There was something written on the wall in… shiny red ink.

It was shiny red ink.

There was no way that Ben was sick enough to write on the walls in blood.

It wasn't possible.

He had made her toffee and cooked Pizza. He got out movies for her to watch and took her shopping.

Ben couldn't have written on the walls in blood.

_Mission._

It wasn't him!

_Duty._

No.

_Discipline._

It was someone else.

_War is art_.

Oh god!

She felt sick. She felt dizzy and Drew felt herself shake.

Her hands dropped the photo on the table and in her disorientation her fingers grazed the table and she touched scratchy material. Her gaze flew down to see a cloth covered bowl.

She didn't want to peel back that piece of cloth, she didn't!

In fact it was top of her list of things to _not_ do

Even as her brain rebelled, her fingers touched the warm scrap and started to tug. A sob caught in her throat as her arm moved against her wishes and pulled the cloth off the bowl.

Her hand flew to her mouth but didn't manage to smother her gasp of horror at the contents of the gilded bowl that lay beneath.

A bowl of red-stained, blood-soaked teeth lay in front of her, almost mocking her with its deceptive simplicity.

It was only teeth.

_Only teeth_! A hysterical gurgle threatened to erupt as she took several steps back, stumbling in her revulsion.

"Let me guess, you don't like art?"

Drew spun to see Ben leaning against the support beam, his head down, face obscured by shadows and his arms folded over his chest.

"Hello Drew."

"Ben," her hand dropped from her mouth but her word was a strangled whisper.

He lowly raised his head, the shadows sliding down his face, illuminating his angled cheeks and then his green eyes like cats eyes, slight and thin in the near darkness.

He looked evil in the lanterns thin glow, his normally handsome face twisted like a visage from hell.

He pushed his body nonchalantly away from the beam and stepped forward like a panther leisurely stalking its prey.

Drew unwittingly moved back.

"Tut, tut," he shook his head, a derisive smirk on his face. "That's not very friendly."

"Excuse me for being a little rattled," she bit back, here eyes wide.

"Rattled?" Ben laughed scornfully. "Drew, honey, I thought you'd understand."

"Understand what?"

"The power we have, the delicious scent of fear as you—"

"Explore orthodontistry?"

Ben smiled, his sweet baby face a mockery of the horrific tableau behind her.

"No. You understand me, Drew."

"I really don't think I do," she said and edged away again as he moved closer. Her gaze drifted back to the bloody altar. Sacrifices to a statue, worship of faces he had known as a child and as an adult. It wasn't understand_able_!

"This… this isn't what we are, Ben."

"Soldiers? Killers? It's what we were made to do, Drew." Ben chuckled darkly. "You know you've felt that primal thrill as you snuff out a life."

Drew's head shook frantically. "No."

"Yes."

"No! It's not like that. The-the thrill is in the power, yeah. But not to…" she trailed off as he licked his lips. "You're crazy."

"Crazy?" He cocked his head and slid to the left, even as she backed away. "Maybe. But you're the one staying here with me."

"Something that's going to change," she vowed as she avoided his pursuit.

"Who says I'm going to let you?"

The air charged with sudden tension as Ben changed from a friend to a cold-blooded killer.

Drew was no longer safe.

Ben brought a hand up to his mouth and bit seductively on his thumb as he regarded her with hooded eyes. "I had to sacrifice to the Blue Lady, Drew, so that I could keep you. I did it for you."

"I'm flattered." She stepped to the right and Ben followed her movement with one to the left.

"You should be. I don't want you to leave. I'd do anything to make you stay."

Drew's gaze dropped to the hand that he kept pressed against the beam and the glint of steel clued her in to the knife that he held in his palm. Crimson rust still stained the blade.

Blood.

He followed her gaze. "Anything."

Drew met his eyes, his green gaze, clear of guilt, clear of pain. There was an odd sort of clarity in them and it spurred her to action.

She threw herself forward and darted just under his arm. She dived for the hole in the floor and caught the rough edge with her fingers, flinging herself down and out of the room like an Olympic gymnast.

She landed just outside the bedroom door in a crouch and, without glancing behind her, leaped to her feet as if her life depended on it.

The apartment had never seemed so huge as she raced through it, taking precious seconds to slam doors behind her to halt Ben's progress.

The front door was shut and locked and would have cost Drew too much time to fiddle with the lock, so, with a kick that wouldn't have been out of place in a Cheerleaders convention, she kicked at the lock. The door burst outward with the pressure and wood splintered as it shattered against the far wall. But Drew didn't stop to think of the poor portal as she leapt over the balcony and propelled herself up the steep stone steps.

In Manticore they had been taught that most offensives started on the ground and, so, if they were caught and cornered, to head upwards.

So up she raced, up to the safety door which purported to stop thieves coming in from the roof.

It didn't stand up to Drew's robust round-kick and suffered the same fate as Ben's front door. It buckled with the force of her thrust and Drew was through the door and racing over the concrete tiles before she could think.

The night had truly fallen and the pitch black was only halted by the dirty grey of the torrential rainfall as the storm that had threatened all day finally manifested.

It had been brewing for days and it was just pure irony that it fell tonight. Within seconds Drew was soaked to the skin and her slick jeans grew heavy as she sped over the concrete.

Behind her she heard the unmistakable roar of Ben and fear prompted her extra speed.

Drew reached the end of the building and, without hesitating, jumped taking the fifteen foot gap like it was a step.

The next rooftop was pure tile and her saturated shoes slid on the smooth tiles, made treacherous with the deluge.

Drew lost her balance for precious seconds before stumbling forwards blindly.

"DREW!"

She didn't even look behind her as she jumped to the next building, and the next, hearing Ben's footsteps come ever closer. The torrent was relentless as she ran and the sounds of the downpour masked even her frantic footsteps and pounding heart as she splashed her way over the skyline.

Suddenly the air charged and crackled as a streak of lightning flashed in front of her, temporarily blinding her. Drew's hand shot up to protect her precious corneas from the back flash and that little distraction caused her to slip.

She landed hard on her hands, grazing and slicing the palms on a smashed glass that had no place on the roof. She tried scampering to her feet, but her slippery soles wouldn't catch purchase on the wet ground and she flailed, like Bambi's first steps.

A roar of thunder shook the building and she almost crawled forward, managing to drag herself to her feet before hurtling herself towards the edge.

Before she could jump, her brain caught her short.

There were no more buildings to jump to.

She had run out of road.

Drew flicked a glance over her shoulder to see Ben walking slowly over the roof, an eerie grin on his face, well aware of what she had just discovered.

Of course, a good soldier was well aware of his exits and entrances. Living there for so long Ben would, undoubtedly, be aware of escape routes.

Drew's glance snapped back. The next building was over the street; a good seventy feet away.

There was no way she could make it.

Or could she?

Narrowing her eyes, Drew ducked her head and braced her body. She'd do it or die trying.

Her legs tensed even as her heart sank. This was it. She took two steps and—

"Drew stop! Stop!" Ben's voice was frantic and she half-turned to see what it was that he wanted.

"Stay back!" she yelled over the hail of rain, shuddering onto the roof.

"Don't be dumb, Drew, you wouldn't make it!"

"Better road kill than a sacrifice!" she spat.

His face dropped. "God, Drew, is that what you think? I wasn't going to kill you!"

The rain sluiced down her face and dragged her hair into her eyes.

"Then what's with the knife, Dr Jekyll?"

Ben looked down as if he had forgotten that he held it. He brought the blade up to his face, seeing the rain wash away the dried blood. He looked up at her face and then thrust the knife away from him. Neither of them heard the clatter of metal on tile above the sound of the rain.

"Dammit, Drew, I wouldn't hurt you?"

"Then what was the threat, Ben? Huh?" She brushed the strands of black hair away from her face.

His hands spread open and he yelled to be heard. "I was joking, I thought you'd realize."

"Realize what? That you're a psycho?"

The word resounded between them.

Psycho.

Hadn't Drew been called that too many times? Now she was labelling Ben too.

That was the rub. She did understand to a degree, it was powerful to hold someone else life in your hand, to know that all you had to do was pinch or flick a finger and they were dead. The difference was that she had never exercised that power.

_Because they stopped you_ echoed a little voice that Drew shook away.

She wasn't crazy.

"I'm not crazy." Drew jumped as she realised that Ben was still talking. He moved closer to her and she edged away from the precipice. He had sounded hurt.

"Those were teeth, Ben. You kill people and rip their goddamn teeth out. That won't put you on the front of Sanity weekly!"

"It makes her stronger."

"Who?" Drew stared.

"The Blue Lady! She takes care of me, she protects me!" he growled as he stalked her. "She's always been there."

"The statue?" Drew was beyond incredulous.

"She's real!" he defended. "She is."

"We protect ourselves," she spat, appalled at his seeming gullibility. "We always have."

"Not me!" He shook his head. "Not anymore. I won't be alone again, Drew. She controls my destiny. If I sacrifice to her you stay."

"I control my own destiny, Ben. Not her. Me."

His head shook so fast that drops sprayed away from his face. "She has, she always has."

The sheer desperation in his voice called tears to her eyes. He was so lost, so damn lost.

And stupid.

"You have to stop this, Ben, its madness."

"It's not crazy! It's faith! What I have is faith."

"What you have is issues!" she yelled, tears mixing with rain. "I… I … can't—!"

"She demands it," he pleaded with her to understand as he stood in front of her.

"She's not real!" Drew whispered, unable to lie to him.

His face fell and Ben frowned, lashing out in his pain. Drew knocked his arm aside and kicked at his midsection, trying to get some space.

"Shit, Drew!" he gasped as he fell forwards. "What was that for?"

Drew gaped incredulously and lost her temper. "You hit me, unless you lost more of the plot! Plot, hell! You never even had the book, did ya?"

"Dammit, I'm not crazy!" he bellowed.

"No?" Drew countered. "Cutting people open? Removing teeth. If you're not crazy then you do a good impression of it."

"I'm not crazy!" he spat and slapped her.

"Then what?" she ducked the punch and snapped her foot at his ankle.

"Lonely, OKAY?" He spread his arms wide, looking every inch the sacrifice that he had performed. "Is that what you wanna hear, Drew? Huh? I'm sick… so sick of being alone."

And just like that all of the fight had gone out of him and his face fell like a little boy denied Christmas.

"Wh—?" She halted herself as his arms dropped.

"I've been on my own for too long."

"Twelve of you escaped."

"Yah, but it wasn't like Zack would let us be together for a '09er reunion." He used the phrase that she had used in conjunction with the escapees. "We were ordered to split up and never be in touch."

"No chance of discovery or betrayal," she whispered.

"See, you get _that_," he said, dejectedly. "Do you have any idea what its like, Max, day after day for thirteen years without contact? Always being told to move on, to not get too close? You can't make friends in case you endanger them and, let's face it, who wants to be friends with me?" his arms went up again and he spun in a crazy circle. "A scrawny kids who tells tales, has no history and no social skills. My childhood sucked!"

"Drew," she said quietly.

"What?"

"You called me Max."

He sniffed. "Yeah, so?"

"Max wouldn't approve of what you do, Ben," she hazarded. "She has these odd ideas about equal rites for humans."

Ben swallowed and looked down. "She wouldn't?" he sounded like a lost little boy again. "What do I do?"

Drew stepped forward pleading with him. "What if… what if I promised to stay with you? Would you stop then? You wouldn't be alone."

Ben cocked his head and took a menacing step towards her causing her back up almost to the edge again.

"You'd stay?"

"Yes."

"How very… noble."

Her eyes narrowed at him and she stood straighter, her temper taking over. "How else would you get someone to stay? Offer them a good dental plan?"

"Bitch!" Ben punched out at her, contacting with her face.

Stars exploded as the left side of her face went numb. Drew dropped to her knees and kicked out at Ben's feet letting the slippery roof and his own arrogance catch him off guard.

Ben slipped over, banging his head on the ground. Drew took the opportunity to turn and run, back the way she had come. There was a small brick enclosure that led down to the lower levels of this building if she could just get there.

But she knew it was too late as Ben flipped upright and sprang over her head, landing in front to cut off her path of escape. He grinned and the fight was on.

Drew may have had ten years more training but she was still recovering from her near-death injuries and Ben had his demented faith on his side giving him power.

His fist caught her ribs, depriving her of breath and she countered with a head-butt that sent him reeling, splashing through the puddles on the ground.

Gasping hard, she backed up protecting her aching side. She growled and spun out with a kick that brought more up water and grit than force and caught Ben a blow in the stomach leaving him winded.

She followed her advantage with a punch to the face that dropped Ben on his back. Ben grinned fiercely as he hit a round-house punch to her face, followed by another and another. She spun back towards the edge of the roof before ducking under his arm and elbowing him in the back.

Ben grunted and slapped out at her, spinning wildly in a circle.

They had managed to fight their way over to the small building that led to the door which went down to the lower levels. It was brick and hurt like hell when slammed into as Ben found out when Drew's fist met his cheek and his head met the wall.

He retaliated but Drew dodged his oncoming fist and grabbed his hair with both hands, yanking his head down to ram against her knee.

On his way back up, Ben grabbed her leg knocking her off balance to land in a splatter amidst the saturated tiles.

Drew grew incensed at his grin as she shoved wet hair from her eyes. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Yeah, actually," he spat out a spatter of blood from his mouth and touched his split lip with the back of his hand. "You are a worthier fight than any I've had. Even the ex-marine was a pushover."

"I'm touched," she said sarcastically. "And so are you, but not in the same way."

"You are a bitch."

"Tell me something I don't know!" she sassed as she clipped his ear with a high kick.

"You make me sane."

Drew paused, her arms upraised. "_This_ is you sane?"

Ben shrugged with a rueful grin and noticing that her defence was down, took advantage and slammed her against the wall, clasping her hands above her head.

"You being here, grounds me. I need you, Drew. I _need_ you."

Drew looked up into desperate eyes, edged with fear and laced with paranoia that she, too, would leave him alone.

"I'll stay," she swore, even as she wriggled to get away from his grip. "But I don't love you, Ben. I love Dek. I'll always love Dek. You can have my company, you can have friendship but that's it. You can't have my love."

Ben smirked wolfishly and looked down at her lips. "Who says I need it?"

Their eyes locked as a flash of lightning illuminated what had been hidden between them and Ben's lips slammed down onto hers as the lightening crashed.

Pushed hard between stone cold wall and hard unrelenting male, Drew was lost in the sensation and her legs twined around Ben's waist. She yanked his head back and joined the assault on his mouth with as much fervour as she could.

They were so close that not even the rain could slide between their hormone heated bodies.

The rain poured, the streets flooded and the shadows on the roof showed two silhouettes lost in a passionate embrace, lost in each other.

The thunder rolled.

----

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X5-454— Because BJ's DNA isn't Shark. The basic hodgepodge of mixed animal DNA is such that not all have the same origins. We have established that some are very heavy sleepers but since that didn't mesh with the idea of soldiers needing to be alert at all times, others were made with experimental animal DNA. With the fact that BJ sleeps one night in four meaning that his sleep patterns are based on animals that need to be wary of predators- like Sheep. So the odds are that BJ has sheep DNA—would YOU admit to that?

X5-454 – very dedicated. Yes it takes a while to get into the rhythm of the story. Its possible we will be running into them soon but, as I've said, I only have so much space and those who are off happy doing whatever really don't need the space! The witchy woman at the BBQ is just your average bitch—nothing creepy there.

Aku Neko- My inspiration comes from a variety of places, things people say, things I see, things I read. But once the characters have been established its so very easy for them to just take over and I tend to let them! More about the Greeks here and we do find out what is wrong with Nyx soon as well. I am glad that they appeal to you. They came out of nowhere! Gestation periods always made me wonder how the Manticore bosses stopped their females getting pregnant- especially with the Heat thing (something that we haven't seen the last of!)

Thanks for the uberkudos

L80bug- Cheers pet, I do try to keep up with them all, it's a bind to try to fit them all in. As to that Sunny and Biggs are due to make an appearance in the next chapter. The Ben/Drew thing has hit its peak here. You like Zack/Emma? That makes…one.

Havok- Gee you had to wait a month- how shocking! I wonder which evil author would make you do that? Probably the same one who has to make her own tea!

GivenAlias- With the new changes to they have stopped sending some updates- my advice would be to reregister. I do update as often as I am able.

GuestTypePerson- I'm glad to have rocked your socks. As you can see here, Ben is not taking Drew's leaving well…at all! Emma has a mind of her own (if you recall she's the one that slept with Biggs) so all is a quandary.

Mae- Cheers pet.

Nevan- Gracias, someone else who likes Zack/Emma- yay!

Ganko— Sorry to make you wait so long, hope its worth it! Joshua is adorable isn't he? The Cece thing just brings it out of him! More soon.

SGOU— Who doesn't love Pix, although he isn't always sweetness and light, as we discover here. He has a few issues himself. Anna and Ralph happened quite by accident! I originally intended for Anna to end up with Ash but I have no idea if that will work out again. I am glad that Zack and Emma seems to be a popular pairing- more so than BJ/Jace apparently. No I thought that we had enough incidental meetings between 09ers and Unit 8. I am glad that your violent reaction has abated somewhat as I can imagine that you would be hunting me down a la Ben style for this travesty. The cutesy factor…of course… had to go and voila psycho- Ben!

Joshua has got to be so cute here! That part with his falling on her stomach and yelling for it to get out had my sister in hysterics!

Mrs— Hey sweets. I did deliver and this was even more abrupt that the other. Anna is mean but so much fun to play with—I think she has a soft spot for Ralph too! Jay is in the fold- watch for her.

elle6778—Yup good old Zack and our resident flirt- Emma. It is sweet but at the same time slightly creepy that he was in her room while she slept. If you thought that Anna was scary there, just wait until she meets white again! I'll have to chage it on my site- thanks for letting me know- What do you think of the pictures.

Lotamoxie—Yup I am still updating but as mentioned in the AN this had to be perfect. See Ben Drew interaction here—cool huh? As for Zack and Emma they make such a fun couple.

BR9- Anna as the pied piper just so funny- she has a different reaction to the one that Skye and Flex had that's for such.

Sarah—Thanks pet, glad that it made you laugh.

sweettweety06—Thanks for that. That sweet cutesy chapter was a tad misleading as we see here. Emma I think will be good for Zack and visa versa. Drew and Dek have a special understanding in that neither knows if the other is alive. Bad choices are bound to be made here and there.

meri24—Thank you very much, reviews make my day! Anna is coming into her own very well isn't she? Yes I have no plans to separate Dek and Drew.

Starr Light1- Cheers pet, Glad to make you laugh. I couldn't wait for it to all come together personally. More reconnections soon as.

Tiggi—Some people don't like the addition of newer characters like the Greeks which is fine, I wont dedicate whole chapters to them again, but small bits like this are essential. Dek has made his way over to SF so no more Dek here I'm afraid. Who is your fave character? Cece's breeding partner was Harley and we have no idea whats happened to him since. More Pix…although not exactly what you asked for.

Angel Of Darkness231—Ahh I am so pleased that you like my cutesy chapter! Ready for the angst now? Thank you for the praise, pet and happy reading.

Lynn-50670—I think Joshua would make a good nanny! Thanks for reviewing.

BlueJean452 – Sorry I made you ansty. This chapter needed a lot of work. Hope you found a specific part here that you liked.

Moonlite Star- Yup. Anna and Ralph are like a modern day…uh… Xena and Gabrielle? The Greeks at school will have problems as seen here. More soon, I hope.

Geminangel— Anna is funny sometimes and its almost fun to have the bitch as an avenging angel complete with sidekick. Drew and Ben have come full circle and I love having them in that much of a couple but not kind of way. Emma and Zack will get along well, I think as long as he doesn't bug her too much and visa versa.

Crazy-VampireSlayer—I think people are staring to get together more now and so we should see more and more meetings and interactions and things will come together nicely.


	12. Feel too much

A/N- Author comes out of hiding-have people put away the knives yet? Oh good. Ahem. Well i hope you enjoyed the last installment or at least have calmed down enough not to kill me. 47 reviews

This is somewhat of a bridge chapter bringing things closer togther and explaining things.

I have had people telling me that they want to know when i update my site, so i have set up a yahoo group called Faythfic which i will use exclusively for my fics. So if you want to ask questions, comment , talk about the characters or the world, request that i update, listen to me ramble or just know what I am up to, what stage my fics are or be spoiled (yes i will post spoilers) then join up.

My first pic will be Aiden and his **apron- you know, if you are interested. grin>**

**http /uk.groups. yahoo. com/group /faythsfic /(without spaces)**

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Chapter 12 Feel too much.**

The thunderstorm had settled well and Anna pushed herself back into the boughs of the tree, hiding from the thick fat drops of rain. She peered through the leaves at the military base ahead, its presence given away by the small flickers of light from windows and sneaky cigarettes.

Anna grinned as another soldier thought that he could get away with lighting up without giving away his position.

He was wrong.

Anna slipped back down the trunk of the tree and dropped into a crouch, the rain masking her movements. She stood thinking deeply about what she was about to do and the risks that she took and would be taking if she didn't plan this right down to the last—

"Did you see 'em?"

Anna bit back a squeak of surprise as Ralph slid out from behind a tree.

"Anomaly's teeth!" She swore as she swung around.

Ralph gave her an ironic smile. "Jumpy?"

Anna narrowed her eyes. "Shut up."

She pushed by the blonde and made her way back to their mini-camp. At least Ralph hadn't given into abject stupidity and built a fire, not when they were this close to the enemy. Even with the wind direction being for them, they couldn't be too careful.

Anna had no intention of ever being caught out again by that jumped up little upstart and she was eager to put an end to his miserable little life.

She hoisted her rucksack away from the basic camping gear that she had managed to procure during her last stay near civilisation. Three days ago she had finally given into pressure and had taken Ralph into the nearest town to find provisions and to do a check for information.

She had headed to the nearest internet café and done her research on both this area and Ames White. What she had found raised every hackle that she had ever possessed.

He was no one.

He had his basis in letter agencies but no one was sure which one. He had a perfect record and almost puritan background. His references went to the highest authorities and he had top level security clearance.

He had always been the picture perfect soldier without so much as the smallest reprimand and that was enough to raise all the alarms.

No one was that perfect.

Anna had taken her own instinct to heart and had gone to the nearest army surplus store and geared up.

She pulled her bag open and yanked out a long black box.

Ralph pushed her way into the small clearing and sat by her side.

"What's that?" she asked, her teeth chattering with the cold.

"M16A2," Anna said brusquely as she opened the box and showed Ralph the contents. It was a standard rifle and Anna had had to drive a hard bargain with the store owner to get it without a permit.

Ralph looked doubtfully into the box. "I think it's broken."

Anna looked at her in horror. "Didn't you do basic assembly in training?"

"Smaller handguns and weaponry only this far." Ralph shrugged. "I was never very good at weapon class. I did better in life skills and Escape and Evade."

"You're education is sorely lacking." Anna shook her head. "How do you expect to get by if you can't even assemble an M16? I could do this blindfolded by age ten!"

"I was paying attention, but it didn't really stick," she confessed.

Anna's stare was far more than incredulous. How could this child who had been reared in Manticore not even know the basics of how to assemble an assault rifle? It was on level with being taught how to use and knife and fork.

Whilst her association with the blonde pain in her ass hadn't been of many days duration, Anna somehow felt that it was her duty, as surrogate Trainer to instruct this girl…before she got them both killed.

Anna gave her a glare. "Fine, then pay attention. This will mean your life. First you need to insert the spring and buffer here, followed by the extractor and spring, and then push the extractor pin in. Got it?"

"Okay." Ralph leaned forward, eager to be an attentive student.

"Then slide the bolt into the carrier until the bolt cam pinhole in both the bolt carrier and the bolt are aligned, like so."

Anna showed her the tiny metal pieces interlinking and Ralph nodded not mentioning that she wasn't sure of the difference between the two small black pieces of metal. They were small, black and metal-like.

She smiled reassuringly without a hint of her ignorance.

"Got it," she lied.

"Place the bolt cam pin by putting it in the bolt carrier turning it one-quarter turn and drop in the firing pin to seat it. Once you've clocked these two parts together turn it upside down. If it falls out, you've done something wrong."

"Ah," Ralph winced knowingly, that bit she did understand, and Anna hid a grin.

"Then pull the bolt back, place the charging handle by engaging it, then pushing the charging handle part of the way in. These two then go together onto the upper receiver." Anna slammed the top of the gun into the bottom. "Join the two parts; engage the upper pin to secure. Close the receiver groups and seat the takedown pin and that way your gun won't fall to pieces."

Ralph grimaced, indicating that that too had happened to her, although she was no closer to understanding how to prevent it now than she had been when it first happened. At least she knew that Anna wouldn't lock her in Solitary confinement for two days for the act.

"Selector switch, hand guards and strap. Voila: gun." Anna handed the newly assembled rifle over to Ralph who held it gingerly.

"Huh, so, not broken then?" Ralph asked timidly with an uneasy smile.

"No."

Anna stood up, removing a single clip from the box and placing it in her boot. Another went into her shirt pocket and yet another into the hollow at the base of her back.

"So," Ralph beamed a little. "What do we do now?"

"We?" Anna gave a short laugh. "We, meaning _you_, stay here and keep quiet. We, meaning me, goes out and takes care of my friend, Mr. White."

"I stay here?" Ralph asked in dismay. "But I could help you."

Anna stared at her.

"I could distract."

Anna stared at her.

"I could be back-up."

Anna stared at her.

"Or I could stay here and watch the gear," Ralph sighed despondently.

"Good girl," Anna nodded and slung her gun onto her back.

>>>>

The soft tickle of hair touched her nose and her cheek rubbed against the silky strands as she stretched.

Drew was well aware that once she woke, or at least owned to waking, she had several very difficult choices to make and more than one painful conversation to have. But at this moment she was more concerned with memorizing the scents of the morning; the beautiful smell of the rain drenched plants outside the open bedroom window and the crisp after-storm scent that lingered in the air.

Thunderstorms.

Ben.

Drew sighed and started to wake for real and, of course, being a solider, that meant that she started the day with a full systems check.

Her back felt like one big bruise. Her arms ached and she knew that she at least one fading black eye. Assorted cuts had dried and she knew that concealed blood that had not been washed away by the rain soaked the bed sheets that she was liberally wrapped in. Her legs felt as if she had run a marathon and she was exhausted, to say nothing of the new, rather uncomfortable, ache between her legs.

Pushing that thought firmly aside to deal with at a time when she was less likely to succumb to hysterics, Drew's eyes fluttered open to squint at the bright light that permeated the room.

"I wondered if you'd sleep forever."

Drew started at the deep voice resonating from somewhere near the door.

Her eyes caught sight of Ben's smiling face as he entered the room carrying a black tray.

"Breakfast," he said sheepishly and placed the tray on the top of the bedclothes.

Drew eyed him warily and sat up, well aware that she was naked under the covers. She tucked the sheet under her chin and smoothed back her hair.

She was so uncomfortable with his presence that the tray that he had placed in front of her gained her undivided attention. The plate containing her breakfast held her eyes for longer than was necessary to ensure that it did, indeed, hold scrambled eggs and toast. The orange juice was subject to another intense gaze and only the fact that the small vase held a tall flower kept it from holding her attention.

"G-good," she almost whispered, wondering at once what had happened to the strong, vibrant soldier that she had always been.

Ben's piercing eyes looked down at her with unaccustomed tenderness and he gave her a small smile. "Least I could do."

Drew edged back and tried to forget the way that he had swung her up into his arms and kissed her hard. The adrenaline had coursed through her as her body recalled the heart-pounding race and the inevitable capture. She had been so overwhelmed by her emotions that she had let instinct take over, instinct that told her that he had caught her, that he was the victor and she was to surrender, she was to allow him to touch her. Her mind screamed 'no', rationality screamed 'no', but her body responded like she had been in Heat. She would try to justify it as pity sex, just letting the poor deluded murderer have his comfort—but she knew it was more than that.

She denied the memory of her back scraping against brick as she was pushed against the walls in mindless passion and she attempted to block completely the sensation of him sliding into her and…and…

She ducked her had, her face flaming in humiliation.

"Hey now." Ben moved his hand to cup her face and was more than a little hurt when she flinched away. "Drew?"

"Don't," Drew said, close to losing her temper. She rested her gaze on his faded denim jeans and jacket wondering if these casual clothes were the same ones that he had used to hunt in.

Ben dropped his hand to his side and inclined his head. "Talk to me."

Drew's head snapped up to meet his steady regard. "You have no right to know what I'm thinking, ass."

Ben's lips twitched. "Maybe not, sweetheart, but I think what we did last night means that I should have some say in your welfare."

Drew, once again, found her eggs fascinating.

"What's bothering you?"

What was bothering her? The fact that she had sex with a certified serial killer? The fact that she had kissed a lunatic? The bruises on her ribs were attestation to the fact that she had participated whole-heartedly in her debauchment so it wasn't that.

No, what truly grated was the fact that she had turn-tailed and ran in the first place.

What had happened to the girl who stood up to and for anything that she felt strongly about?

What had happened to the Drew that took no crap from anyone? What had happened to her to make her turn and run at the first sign of trouble? That simply wasn't her style and had never been. She had never backed down, she had never fled and she had never turned her back on an enemy.

That was what bothered her.

As a transgenic bought up in Manticore she didn't really have a huge issue with morality and knew that more than one of her fellow soldiers had taken part in licentious acts, even before the enforced breeding. She, herself, had indulged in a few kisses with Mets before her attention had been taken over by Dek.

No, what bothered her was her lack of strength. For a soldier, for a woman of her level of independence, it smacked too loudly of cowardice for her to feel comfortable with it and she was ashamed of herself.

Soldiers did not run.

"Tell me!" Ben all but growled.

"I'm not afraid of you," Drew snapped. "Don't think for one second that you scare me at all."

Ben gaped. "I know that."

"Do you?" she snarled. "I bet you were just dancing in glee when I ran, another willing victim, Ben? Turned you on, did it?"

Ben frowned and moved the tray away, sitting quickly by her side again.

"Drew, what is this?"

Drew refused to look at him. She turned her head away and stared determinedly at the sheets.

"Drew?" His voice was pleading. "Come on, baby, talk to me."

"Not your baby," she said petulantly and immediately felt stupid.

Ben's lips twitched. "Sorry."

There was silence for a moment.

"I ran," she said in disgust. "I'm second only to Max and when faced with the enemy I ran."

"Ah." Ben understood.

"No," Drew's voice was choked, "Not ah! I'm Drew for hells sake, X5-633. I've never backed down from anything in my life!" She turned abruptly to him. "You know when I was five years old I challenged one of the anomalies to hand to hand? When I was six I climbed hand over fist to the roof of Seattle's tallest tower without a harness. When I was eight I took on a Trainer. I don't run away. Ever!"

Ben calmly sat back as he watched unbidden tears glinting in her eyes. She really was distraught by her behaviour and he wasn't sure what to say. He had never been anyone's confidant before and had less than no experience at making people feel better.

Drew looked miserable and stabbed at her breakfast in a lacklustre manner that was at odds with the spitfire he had come to know in the past few weeks.

He bit his lip and looked at the girl that lay in his bed. She was battered and bruised, her lip edged with dried blood, her eye was puffy and yellow and her hair looked like she had been dragged through a hedge backwards; she was the most beautiful creature that he had ever seen.

"Drew," he began and stopped.

"Hmm?" she sniffed angrily, feeling ridiculously disappointed at herself.

"When I first saw you, you were barely able to walk. You told me yourself that your spine had almost been crushed to pieces in the fire. You had damaged neurons and spinal cord from being thrown against the wall. Third degree burns all over, no matter how you tried to hide it," he admonished. "You only had a few days to recover, you said, before coming to Seattle. Odds are that you are not healed completely yet."

Drew's eyes narrowed. "If you are trying to make me feel better, you're failing!" She had hoped to hide how weak she was still feeling. The truth was that she hadn't been herself ever since she left Ed's. Near-death tended to do that for you.

"What were we always told was stronger than ourselves?"

"Pix's crazy glue," she said immediately.

Ben's forehead creased in confusion. "Pix?"

Drew waved that away. "Stronger than us? Not much."

"Instinct," Ben informed her. "Instinct is stronger than we are. Self-preservation, especially. Whilst you were ready to face me and fight, your body knew that it wasn't ready for it. _You_ didn't run, Drew. Your body did."

Drew brushed her hair away from her face and thought about that. No, he couldn't be right. She would never run away.

_As she turned the corner there was another explosion and the hall shook with the force, cracks appearing in the walls and ceiling. The pipes that ran along the ceiling snapped with an ear-splitting screech and hissing steam suddenly filled the whole hallway making it impossible to see as the boiling vapour stung her eyes._ _She spun and fought her way blindly towards the fire-exit, blinking to dispel the tears of pain that slid down her cheeks, and sprinted down the stairs towards the lower ground floor._

No way was she afraid of him and her body was her own. She controlled her actions and reactions.

_Drew tried to move, looking up to see a huge boulder of stone heading her way. Unable to dodge or crawl due to her spinning head Drew could only curl into a ball as it hit and sent her plummeting into blackness._

Drew had always been able to take of herself.

_Taking a deep breath and concentrating on staying conscious Drew grabbed hold of the stairs railing and slowly, so slowly started to descend the staircase._

Her body was under her control and wouldn't desert her when she needed it. Instinct was not that powerful. Not even when she was close to dying had she… did she…

_As she stood, as shakily as a newborn colt, she forced herself to move, each step a calculated effort. It was taking everything she had not to just sit down and sleep. _

Drew's eyes widened. She hadn't wanted to move, she had wanted to lie down and sleep. She hadn't cared about living at that point but her body dragged her onwards. It wasn't even a conscious thought. She just gave over to the soldier.

Was that instinct?

Max had once told her that when she was in Psy Ops she had regressed to 452 instead of "Max" to help her get through and Drew had taken that to heart.

At the point when 'C' block exploded she had let everything go except the soldier, who was only aware that she had to get out, had to go on, had to live.

Was 633 just another name for instinct?

Drew bit her lip. That meant that there was a part of her who actually had the sense to know when to say 'no more'.

She wasn't sure what she felt about that; all she knew was that she wasn't a coward and that made her feel more like herself. Any other information could wait to be assimilated until after she had eaten.

"You okay?"

She raised an imperious eyebrow at that. "I'm not about to cry if that's what worrying you."

Ben's face split into a huge grin. "There's my girl."

"Dek's girl," she corrected as she sipped her juice. "That doesn't change just because we had sex."

"You sure 'bout that?" he posed in good humour.

"100," she said, certainly. "You and me we're—"

"Propinquity?" he asked playfully. "Proximity? Convenience?"

"All of the above."

Ben nodded and grinned devilishly. "I can live with that."

Drew grabbed his collar and pulled him close. "What made you think you had a choice?"

She pushed the breakfast tray onto the floor and silenced him with her lips.

>>>>

Had the coffee ring on the table been animate it would have felt the full effects of the Pix glare and cringed as it hid from the usually playful man's wrath. As it was Pix's ire was wasted on the stain and he was more than irritated by the fact.

"Nothing 'round here has any Renfro-damned respect."

"Well if you insist on talking to tables…" Chance trailed off and tried to avoid his mutinous pout.

"Fine, you turn against me, too," he muttered. "See if I care, I don't care ya know. I really have no idea why I started this stupid thing in the first place, I'm sure even the janitor would be far more qualified than me, after all I'm just the joker. But I don't care, see if I care because I don't, you know!"

Chance placed a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles and walked up behind her love wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her head on his back. "Pix?"

"Sorry, my angel," he said letting his hands rest on hers across his chest. He sighed deeply, knowing that he couldn't take his ill humour out on Chance— she didn't deserve it.

Since being back in Terminal City and with Feen and Techie, Chance had really returned to the way she had been before they left Manticore. There was still something of a sweet sadness about her which Pix attributed to missing her brother and the rest of her unit, but in essentials she was back to his little Chance.

She no longer got up and cried at night and neither did she sit for hours staring at the walls like a mannequin.

It made a welcome change for him and he now had time to worry about other things.

He turned in her embrace and wrapped his arms around her, letting his chin rest against her dark tresses. He kissed the soft strands and knew the peace that only came from having her in his arms.

"My angel," he breathed and felt her shiver slightly.

"I love you," she muttered into his chest and Pix felt a swelling in his heart.

"What's worrying you?" Chance asked as she glanced up at him.

"Nothing," he replied without even thinking and her face fell a little.

"You can confide in me, ya know," she said somewhat sadly.

"I know that." Pix hugged her closer but knew that he wouldn't answer her.

Somehow it had always been part of his nature in his dealings with Chance to always be the tough one, the one who was in control and he had kept that idea from his first dealings with her.

He could still see her in his minds eye; lying flat on her back, looking up at him from behind a curtain of hair, wondering if this stranger was going to berate her for bumping into him.

She had needed to be loved and protected back then, allowed to grow into a woman in her own time but at the same time, to be shielded from as much hurt as he could deflect. Chance was his own little angel, a blessing whenever he thought about her and he would move heaven, earth and Manticore itself to keep her happy and safe.

If that meant shielding her from some of the more… unpleasant aspects of his character and psyche then so be it.

"I was restless last night," he lied. "Too much too fast and didn't want to wake you."

Chance stepped out of his embrace and regarded him thoughtfully.

"I'm not a child, Pix. I can be trusted with your thoughts, it's not like I'd suddenly run to Feen."

"I know."

"Do you?" Chance said softly. "You once told Biggs that he never bothered to look at me, to see the real me. He didn't realise that I had changed and I'm beginning to wonder if you have either."

"I have," he said flatly. "You are a beautiful woman, Chance. You have grown up a lot."

"So trust me," she begged, "talk to me, I might be able to help."

Pix bit his lip.

In Wyoming he had been the pariah of his unit, he was too flighty and enjoyed practical jokes too much. He loved getting the better of the Trainers and that leant him to getting into trouble as they attempted to break his spirit. His unit refused to participate and any attempts at holding someone in his confidence usually ended with them turning him in.

He had learned at a very young age not to trust his Trainers, his superiors or his unit. That had passed somewhat when he left for Seattle and found those who felt the same, held the same ideals and accepted him.

But in amongst all of that he was aware that there was only one person who had been through as much, if not more, than he had and who would understand the underlying fears and insecurities that came from never fitting in, from being punished for every real or imagined infraction and who had been the scapegoat for everyone else's frustrations.

That was Max.

Max was the only one who he knew woke up in the middle of the night sweating with memories of endless weeks in Solitary confinement or plunged in the Tank until they were sure that their lungs would burst. She was the only one that he knew had been placed in what the Trainer's had affectionately named "The Iron Maiden"; a device based on medieval torture on which a subject was excepted to stand in a long metal box with nails and spikes protruding from the door and walls, so that it was impossible to slouch or lean, for days.

How could he tell a sweet girl who was afraid of the dark that he still had nightmares of falling asleep on a spike and waking up with his pinning him to the wall? How could he tell this sweet creature with doe eyes that he had been tied to concrete blocks and thrown in a river?

Max had been there, she knew what life was like back then. She also would understand the fact that, despite Training to make them the best of the best, the memories of being constantly bombarded with people telling them that they were 'worthless, dispensable, useless, pathetic, insignificant creatures' had left their mark.

How could he lead a nation when he could hear Trainer McCarthy's voice telling him that he'd never amount to anything? How could he form a training program when he could fell the kick from a heavy boot proclaiming that he had all the organizational skills of an amoeba?

And how could he tell Chance all about his fear and insecurities when all he wanted to do was protect her from them?

Chance was still waiting for a reply and Pix merely shrugged. "There is nothing to help, sweetheart."

Chance sagged temporarily defeated. "All right, Pix, you win this time. But if you loved me, truly loved me, you'd trust me. I can help you."

Chance leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. "I love you."

Pix smiled distractedly at her.

"There is a new band of Xs just showed up, mostly kids. I'll house them over in Churchgate Street."

"Okay," Pix nodded.

"One wants to talk to you."

Chance walked away and quietly pulled the door to, calling out to someone to come over.

Pix watched her go with a heavy heart, knowing full well that his inability to tell her what was wrong had hurt her, but not knowing how to salvage things without letting her know what it was that bothering him.

If he couldn't keep it together for his girlfriend then what use was he?

How could he protect a nation if he couldn't protect Chance?

_Damn._

He banged his fist on the table. Who was he kidding? What possible use could he be here? Who had he ever been able to protect and make feel better?

He was good for nothing.

Pix raked a frustrated hand through his hair.

"'Scuse me?"

Pix glanced around… and down to see a small, grubby X-series stare up at him with wide eyes, his hands clutching a small bugle horn.

"Hi," his voice was far calmer than his state of mind.

The boy bit his trembling lip and Pix felt uneasy.

"You okay, kid?"

The boy nodded fervently and then seemed to gather all his courage together. "Are you really him?"

Pix blinked. "Him who?"

"The Joker-man?" The boy held his bugle tighter in his arms, like a teddy-bear.

"Joker man?"

The boy nodded again. "You made the water pink and set fireworks off."

Ah. "Yeah, that was me."

_Great credentials, Pix,_ he thought. _You made the water pink._

"Wow," the boy gave a small smile. "When I was in Solitary I was so scared of the dark and… and…and then there were lights in the sky and it was so pretty and I wasn't a'scared anymore. The one time I was being disciplined for 'n 'fraction and you made something 'splode and the Trainer forgot to hit me."

Pix gave him a small smile. "Really?"

"I watched for you," the boy stammered out. "You always made me and my unit laugh and it…it made it all better. When I was scared I always thought 'what would the Joker-man do?' and… it stopped me crying."

"I did?" Pix asked hesitantly.

"Uh huh," he enthused. "When the big fire came, I went to find you."

"Me?"

"I…I found something," the boy looked very nervous and fished in his filthy pockets for something.

"What is it?" Pix asked curiously.

"This."

The boy held out a small black object, badly burned and Pix took it, turning it over in his hands. It was no bigger than the palm of his hands and had a familiar weight.

Pix's eyes widened as he took in the charred edges, curling pages and small monograph "PM" on one corner.

"Pix's mischief," he whispered and opened the little black book filled with his scrawled handwriting detailing his every misdemeanour.

It was lost in the fire and he had never thought to see it again. It was almost like seeing a piece of his soul back again.

"Where did you get this?"

"It was in the rubble," the boy rubbed his nose, smearing soot onto his cheeks. "I wanted to give it back if I ever saw you again, sir."

"Pix," Pix corrected and he pulled the child to him and erased the smudge on his face with his sleeve edge. "There. My name is Pix, not sir. Thank you for this."

The boy fairly beamed at the attention from his idol. "M-my name is Bugler, sir… Pix. I'm so happy that you are in charge, I know you'll take care of us," he sounded so sure that Pix almost felt humbled.

"Thank you, Bugler," Pix rubbed the soft charred leather with his fingers feeling more comforted than he could remember in months.

_I can do this,_ he thought. _This child believes in me, he thinks I can do this. I can't let them down, I will succeed…at least until Max arrives._

"Maybe you should get something to eat, Bugler."

"Okay," the boy turned and headed for the door. Before he opened it he turned back.

"Mr Pix, sir?"

"Yeah."

Bugler shifted from foot to soot before answering. "When I grow up, I want to be just like you."

With that he shut the door behind him leaving Pix with a pleasantly shell-shocked expression on his face.

>>>>

Skye walked into the dining room, seeing Flex with his feet up on the table, his toes poking through holes in his socks.

She smiled at the image of the tough genetically modified soldier with tatty clothes and an open newspaper snoring gently.

She crept into the room and sat on the edge of the chair, feeling a wave of tenderness as she watched his sleep.

It was hard to believe that it had been less than eight months ago that they had been prisoner in Manticore, forced to cohabitate but discouraged in relationships.

She leant over and planted a kiss on his nose.

Flex smiled sleepily. "Hey," he breathed.

"Hey. You tired, sugar?"

"Mm," he mumbled. "Worked flat out at the construction site."

"What, tough transgenic can't handle a days work?" Skye teased and Flex opened one eye.

"I'm doing the job of three men right now as well as trying to keep the fact hidden, remember my lies and… I'm doing paperwork too, you know how I hate that."

"Why paperwork?" Skye remembered how Flex used to moan that he was good at flexing every muscle but the one between his ears.

Flex bit his lip, as if he thought she'd laugh. "I want to be a good all rounder… Mike is talking about promotion."

"That's great," Skye enthused and, because she couldn't help herself, kissed him again.

Flex grinned, relieved that she wouldn't ridicule him for wanting what others had. "And here I thought the stud of Manticore was losing his hunk status."

"Hardly." She eyed his muscles. "Although if I find another woman touching you, you'd lose far more than that."

"Why would I want another?" he asked and pulled her into his lap, peppering kisses up and down her collar.

Skye squirmed for a moment and then gave in to the delicious sensations that coursed up and down her spine.

Suddenly she remembered why she had come in to find him. "Flex, honey, have you seen Galen?"

Flex sagged. "Damn, there goes hunk status. I can't even keep my girl interested!"

Skye giggled. "Idiot," she said affectionately, "Any more interested and the Greeks will have something more interesting to watch than the Discovery channel when they come in."

"You do know why Isacar watches that, right?"

Skye slapped the back of his head. "Galen?"

"I think the Greeks took him out to the shed to play." Flex grinned as he ran his fingers up her arm until she slapped him away.

Skye blinked in surprise as his words penetrated. "They included Galen?"

Flex shrugged and stretched. "Yeah, so he's fine. As long as they aren't playing those games that Unit 6 played with Max." he was only teasing but as the words came out they both froze.

"They wouldn't," Skye said airily, "Would they?"

They looked at each other and then, as one, stood and walked out of the house.

During one weekend Flex had built the kids a large shed at one end of the garden so that they could have some private time if they needed it. It was next to the Jungle gym that Zephyr had begged for and the mini pool that Icarus claimed was essential, past the wildlife pond that Isacar spent hours studying and through the swinging hammock where Nyx did her homework.

They crept up to the shed and pushed open the door and peered inside.

Icarus was sat on one side, with a large smile on her face. Nyx was stood in front of the other three with her hands on her hips.

Skye frowned as she looked at Isacar, Zeph and Galen stood with their fingers touching their noses.

She looked up at Flex who was as confused as she was, he shrugged.

"Okay," Nyx said. "452 says hop on one leg."

All three boys suddenly hopped on one leg.

"452 says rub your stomach with the other hand."

With one finger touching their nose, hopping on one leg each boy began rubbing his belly.

"452 says turn around."

They spun.

"Put down your foot."

Zeph let his foot touch the floor and immediately groaned as he realised what he had done.

"Ha, ha, 452 didn't say!" Icarus crowed. "You're out Zeph."

"Damnation!" he cursed and sat against the wall with Icarus. She tucked her arm around him and he nestled in.

"452 says stand still and put your foot down," Nyx continued and waited until Galen and Isacar stood still. "452 says bend over and wiggle your butt!"

"Oh, the humiliation," Isacar moaned and, to Skye's delight, Galen giggled.

"Come on, cutie!" Nyx ordered with glee in her voice.

"Did the Trainers ever tell you that you a mean streak?" Isacar complained as he turned and bent over.

"452 says wave your hands in the air."

"From down here?" Isacar said incredulously and Galen almost fell over, he giggled so hard.

"452 says stand straight and… scratch like a monkey."

"452 was a sadist," Isacar said confidently.

"452 says tap your elbow, touch your nose, kick one foot, drop into third formation and do a back flip," Nyx said sweetly.

Isacar blinked. "Say what?"

Galen tapped his elbow, touched his little nose, kicked out and started the third formation drill whilst Isacar stood there mutinously.

Nyx raised an eyebrow and he frowned.

"I'll get you for this."

"Yeah, you and whose transgenic army?"

"ME!" Zeph laughed out loud as Isacar did the exercise with bad grace.

"452 says bounce on one foot."

Galen and Isacar jumped. "452 had far too much energy."

"494 says stop."

Isacar stopped and sighed, "Thank Renfro, I was feeling sea-sick."

He suddenly realised that Galen was still bouncing and he mentally replayed her command.

"Oh…Anomaly poo!"

Nyx beamed. "Gee, some people will take orders from anyone!"

"494 was in command as well," Isacar pouted.

"Okay, stop bouncing," Nyx said to Galen, "you won!"

The little boy carried on bouncing.

"452 says stop, game over!"

Galen stopped and looked up expectantly. Isacar suddenly picked him up and swung him onto his shoulders.

"Galen is the winner!"

"Go Galen!"

"Yay Galen!"

Skye pulled Flex away from the door and they made their way back into the house, not daring to look at each other until they were safely in the house.

Once the door was shut they both gave way to the hysterics that had threatened whilst watching the children's game.

Flex sagged onto the sofa, tears of laughter in his eyes as Skye pressed herself against the wall, her shoulders shaking.

"Oh God!" she laughed. "How cute!"

"I don't think that any of us followed Max's commands like that!" Flex responded, wiping his eyes.

"Yes, but I don't recall Max ever telling us to bend over and wriggle."

"Not you maybe." Flex waggled his eyebrows and was hit in the face by a cushion.

"Jerk."

They were silent for a moment before Flex spoke up. "Skye?"

"What?"

"The kids will probably be over there for some time."

"Hmm?" she bit her lip seductively.

"452 says come over here and kiss me."

>>>>

The blond man paced backwards and forwards in the bathroom, his hair flopping into his eyes. He flicked the over-long fringe away and clenched his fists, once, twice and again, trying to get feeling back into the palms of his hands.

It was cowardly to hide away like this in the bathroom when there was a beautiful woman waiting in the other room for him.

He sank back against the pristine white sink and glared at the bathroom door as if it were at fault for his current situation.

Should he? Or should he wait?

What was the worse that could happen?

_She could say no._

He raked his had through his hair again and then immediately jumped up to check his reflection in the mirror again.

Just as he suspected, his hair was a mess.

Flattening the unruly strands down took up more valuable seconds and enabled him to breathe more deeply as the habitual action required very little actual thought.

He could do this.

There was a faint knocking on the door.

"Babe, are you okay in there?"

"Out in a second," he called and winced at his own inanity. Perhaps he should stay in here forever; he could make the towels into a make-shift tent and could, perhaps, learn to enjoy the taste of soap.

Stay and not ask.

Ask.

Not ask.

_Shit_.

He took a deep breath and unlocked the door, stepping into the hallway and through to the kitchen, almost counting his steps and he went.

He glanced up and there she was standing by the stove, pouring the last of the wine into two glasses.

She glanced over her shoulder as she heard him, her eyes dark and delicious and so very welcoming.

"Dinner was great." Her voice was a purr.

"Yeah." He had no idea what he had actually eaten, it could have been cardboard for all he was aware.

She turned around and folded her arms over her chest looking at him with an amused expression. "Sweetheart, you have been acting weird all day."

He swallowed and nodded.

Her expression fell slightly. "Is there a problem?"

He shook his head.

"Are we playing charades?"

He shook his head again and attempted to clear his throat. "I…uh… you…see."

"Feeling laconic?" A slow smile curved her lips and she flicked her black tresses over her shoulder, letting the raven locks blend with the midnight velvet of her little black dress.

His eyes followed the lines of her caramel skin down her slender legs and back up to her amused gaze. He stepped forwards and stopped again.

She giggled, a wholly unusual sound to pass her lips. "What is with you tonight?"

He took a deeper breath and let his hands fall to his pockets pulling out a small box.

"C—" he cleared his throat again. "Coco? W-w-will you marry me?"

Coco's jaw dropped as Jason pulled out the small inoffensive box and its myriads of complications.

"Jason?"

The man looked down at the unopened box and frowned to himself. "See, I had this all worked out. I'd make us dinner and I'd be witty and charming all the way through and we'd dance and then I'd go down on one knee. I'd ask, you'd say yes; happily ever after." He gave a short laugh. "Dumb huh?"

Coco swallowed. That sounded like the most ridiculous, trite, _wonderful, delightfully exquisite, perfect _proposal she had ever heard.

But could she accept it?

Love, marriage, children.

A year ago she would have scoffed at the notion, but that was before Jason.

These past few months with Jason had been the happiest of her life. He made her feel beautiful, he made her feel special but most of all he made her feel normal.

It felt like a wonderful dream and one that she didn't want to wake up from.

But under the dream she had remember that she was still, at heart, a soldier. Could she risk a civilian in her dangerous life or would she be willing to give it all up for him, for love?

Coco had been aware for sometime that she would need to look for her fellow soldiers one day and had been putting it off for longer and longer as she tried to cling to the life that she had fashioned here with Jason. It wasn't that she particularly missed them, with the possible exception of Anna and Steve, who she had always got along with. It was more of a sense of duty and knowing that she owed Max and Tara the courtesy to at least tell them that she was okay and not in danger or dead.

Other than that, did she really want to go back to a soldier's way of life? Did she want to spend her existence covered in mud and worse, knowing the precise scent of blood and stages of death? Or would she rather have a warm body in her bed and children… if she could even have them, with Jason?

The object of her thoughts shifted from foot to foot. "Uh, long silence, doesn't bode well."

He was adorable when he was nervous. Refusing him would be like kicking a puppy. Besides if she refused him would she have to leave?

The thought hit her with all of the weight of a freight train. Leave him? Never see him again?

Impossible. Somehow Jason had become as important to her as breathing and there was no way that she would leave him.

Coco's lips curved. "Jason, I—"

"You don't have to say yes," he held out his hands as if to ward off rejection. "I mean, if you weren't ready or… or you needed a place to crash, or if you don't feel the same way, or…or… need time? I could…I do—"

He was cut off as Coco started forward and lay her finger over his lips.

"Shh," she soothed. "Yes."

There was silence for a moment.

"Yes?" he croaked.

"Yes."

He looked at her as of she were playing a joke on him. "Yes, you need time, or yes, you'll marry me."

"I'll marry you."

"Oh," he sighed and expelled his held breath in a big rush. Coco could not help but laugh as he sagged.

She grabbed hold of his collar and pulled him in for a deep, penetrating kiss.

He tangled his hands in her hair and she felt herself slide neatly into his arms.

After a minute he pulled back. "Really?"

"Shut up," she snarled playfully as she tugged him towards the bedroom.

>>>>

The shift seemed never-ending to Sunny as she completed her sixtieth prowl around the crammed Casino floor. She had been on for a straight nine hour shift and she was about a hairsbreadth away from committing some atrocious act of malicious, premeditated violence against the very next person stupid enough to attempt to fleece the casino.

It wasn't as if the casino hadn't gained the reputation of being the best secured and the most monitored since she and Biggs had arrived. It had. And it wasn't as if almost 100 of crimes committed hadn't been caught. The point was that most considered this a challenge and they tried even harder to fleece the system.

Sunny was sick of pinch-pennies and losers, sleeve-cheats and rakes, gamers and hustlers. For once she'd like to meet a thief who was too good to be caught.

_Of course_, she thought, _if he was too good to be caught, then she wouldn't meet him._

Unlike those idiots over there who sat close and whispered to each other, looking fervently around the room.

Sunny sighed and walked over, pretending an interest in the wall sconces.

She sat on the stool behind them with her back to them, watching them in the mirror.

The two men were of non-descript appearance, seeming to blend into the crowd with their normalcy. She could almost feel her eyes sliding off them as if she were predisposed to ignore them. Forcing her attention back to them she focused on the bald-headed one and his hissed words.

"—seriously, it's like nothing on earth."

"Are you sure it's safe?" the other asked almost desperately.

"Would it matter?" The bald one said.

_Drugs_, Sunny thought in disgust.

"How did you discover it?"

"Word of mouth, friend."

_Sure, _Sunny watched their hands carefully. As soon as she saw any sign of passing packages, she'd act.

"Are all the rumours true?"

"You walk with your own," his voice was deep as if describing perfection, "Its like nothing I can describe, you are free. It's the ultimate freedom."

"Have you—"

The bald man nodded emphatically. "I have seen it, I have been there."

"I'll do it," the other man nodded.

"Okay, here ya go."

Sunny sat up as the bald man dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out something small, square and white. He handed it to the darker man and Sunny leapt into action, swirling around on her chair and grabbing the hand that started to place the item in his pocket.

"Now, now, boys there are far safer places to pass than in the middle of one of the strictest security casinos in town."

The two men gaped at her. "You can see us?"

"Of course I can!" she said in distaste. "It's my job to keep an eye on a low-life like yourself."

The two men just ducked their heads, the dark haired man not even attempting to pull his hand away and Sunny flipped his wrist over.

"Now exactly what have we here? Crack, heroine, stars and flusters or some new… paper?" Sunny blinked at the small square of paper that she now held in her hand.

"Betting slip," the bald headed man said quickly.

"Shut up," Sunny said as she opened it.

_946_

_Terminal City. Seattle._

"946," she whispered. "What is this? What's this address?"

The two men exchanged scared glances.

"Let go!" hissed the dark haired man, as if suddenly afraid and, to Sunny's amazement started to fade out of existence.

Without a care, she twisted the wrist in her grasp and knocked his elbow backwards, letting go of the sheaf of paper and grabbing the thick dark hair. Flipping him over, she wrenched his collar down and found what she had been looking for.

A barcode.

"Camouflage team," she whispered.

The bald man, who had been ready to bolt, stared at her.

"How did you know that?"

Sunny found herself grinning as let go of the dark-haired man. "X5-521 at your service."

"X-series?" The bald man gaped. "Here?"

Sunny grabbed the paper off the floor. "What is this? I know the code."

"It's the code we use to let each other know that the information is legitimate; from Manticore's own."

"What's Terminal City?" she asked.

"It's a place deep in the heart of Seattle. It used to be a chemical testing ground, or so the rumours go. The thing is there was a chemical leakage and no human can survive there. It's become ground zero for Manticore alumni. Freaks, geeks, anomalies, X's, all there living in peace."

"Sounds like a crock." Sunny so wanted to believe in what he was saying but it didn't seem possible.

"No word of a lie," he assured her. "I went there myself, after hearing about it from a missi."

"Missi?"

"That's what we called the genetic mistakes; you know, those too far gone to be freaks."

Sunny nodded. She was well aware that there has been a hierarchy or sorts, even within the basement of Manticore. Freaks were those whose DNA had come out somewhat wonky; those with canine, feline or mammalian features that would have made them outcasts in the real world. Geeks were those whose DNA had been tampered with to elicit different skills but hadn't quite worked; some disappearing at random, some changing colour, they could still go into society but had to be careful.

Then there were anomalies, or missis- mistakes; those whose physical deformities were such that they had no chance of fitting into society at all.

"So?" she prompted.

"It's like heaven," he grinned, showing razor sharp teeth. "Everyone walks equal. You can see Freaks talking with Xs and Geeks lunching down with missis. Food is scarce, but people share. The buildings are kinda run down but there's plenty of room."

"How many Xs?" Sunny asked quickly. She could see Biggs over by the water cooler trailing a suspected hustler, she wanted to share this with him.

"Couple, more arrive every day as word gets around. I'm telling you the place is kosher. Free to come and go as you will. The current leader set up a small team of us to go and tell those who might be in dire straights to come."

"Leader?" Sunny's attention was caught. "Who?"

"Some X-series, I think he was a member of the Elite, but I can't recall."

"Elite?"

"You know, Spec Ops."

Sunny beamed at him. "Thank you."

He blinked. "You seem like you got a sweet set-up here, girl, are you sure you want to leave. Terminal City is all right for those of us who have no choice but you… you seem to have got it made here."

"Money, clean sheet," Sunny nodded. "But not family."

Bald-man grinned. "I hear ya, I'm headed back today. You wanna come with me?"

"No," Sunny shook her head. "Me and mine have to make arrangements first. We'll be there though." She considered for a second and then tucked her hand into her pocket and pulled out a wallet. "There's roughly a hundred large here, confiscated it from a guy on the take over at the Roulette tables, I want you to buy food and take it back to Terminal City."

The bald man gaped. "A hundred grand, you trust me with this? I'm a Freak."

"You're Manticore which means that you know that, should you run, I will find you. I'm Spec Ops too and you cannot escape me." Her voice was low and fierce and he nodded.

"I won't let you down, ma'am."

"Good, what's your name?"

"Don't have one as yet."

Sunny grimaced at the tiny sharp teeth. "I'm calling you Razor."

"I like it."

"Razor, get out of here." He nodded and was gone just as Biggs came over.

"Hey, babe, ready for some food? It's been a hell of a shift; I must have cracked at least twelve asses trying to pull something." His voice trailed off as he noticed Sunny's preoccupation with something. "Sunny?"

She looked up at him. "Biggs, we're going on vacation."

He blinked. "We are?"

Sunny grabbed his jacket. "We're going to see the boss, right now."

Biggs knew it was pointless to argue over this and he sighed as he allowed himself to be pulled. "Can't I eat first?"

>>>>

The tears fell fast and furiously and she made no move to wipe them away.

"And I said I'd never leave you!"

"And you never will," he vowed stalwartly, his voice barely heard over the tears. "But I've got a job to do too. Where I'm going you can't follow. What I've got to do you can't be any part of."

His next words were muffled by a sob.

"Someday you'll understand that."

"Oh God!" she cried, dropping her head into her hands.

"Here's looking at you, kid."

And that was all it took for Joshua to burst into howls of tears and bury his head into Cece's shoulder, the popcorn all but abandoned on the floor next to the old television set.

Cece sniffed and wiped her nose on the back of her sleeve as she turned back to the picture.

"She's leaving!" she moaned as Humphrey Bogart ducked his head.

"Noo," Joshua sobbed, taking huge breaths. "Why?"

Cece shrugged, tearing her tissue into shreds that danced to the floor like damp snowflakes.

"Noble," she managed, "He's a hero."

"Ye-e-s," Joshua howled.

"I want one!" Cece snivelled. "My baby needs a heroic father."

"Joshua want one too!" he sniffed. "Father!"

They looked at the screen as Bogart nodded. "This could be the start of a beautiful friendship."

Cece looked at Joshua and he returned the gaze in full measure before bursting into tears again.

Cece followed quickly, falling into his arms in a sobbing heap.

The movie credits played on whilst the two new friends on the sofa cried heartily.

Tara put her hand over her mouth and darted back into the kitchen, muffling sounds of laughter.

"She's pregnant," Carrot said bemused as he watched from the kitchen doorway. "What's his excuse?"

>>>>

The afternoon sun was starting to sink into the clouds, ready to make its final ascent. Thankfully that meant that the intense heat that had punctuated the day was easing into light warmth that left everyone feeling quite lethargic.

Flex who has sweated his heart out working at the construction site lay comfortably on the front porch swing, sipping a beer with his arm around Skye who lay against him, lazily swinging a leg over the arm of the swing.

He grinned and kissed the top of her head as she yawned.

"Long day?" he asked and she nodded.

"Hmm, took Icarus shopping. Damn that girl reminds me of Sunny so much its scary."

"Shopoholic?"

"Yeah."

Flex lifted his head and sniffed the air letting his stomach grumble at the smell that drifted from the kitchen where Icarus was busy cooking. "She can max out my cards as long as she cooks like that."

Skye chuckled against his chest. "Men, so easily pleased."

"Thankfully," he muttered and avoided the elbow in his ribs as she heard that.

He looked out at the garden and felt an odd swelling inside as he surveyed the occupants.

Galen was hanging upside down on the jungle gym, his little legs hooked over the top-most bar as he swung back and forth enjoying himself silently. Both Skye and Flex were pleased that he was coming out of his shell somewhat.

Nyx lay in her hammock on one side of the garden, lazily indulging in on of her favourite past-times, which was correcting her school text books. As Flex peered over he could see that she busy amending Darwin and scribbling sketches of Galen in the margins, admonishing him when he moved too quickly.

Isacar sat with Zeph on his left, reading aloud and pointing out mistakes, cultural differences, correcting grammar and generally initiating the six year old on the ramifications of Shakespearean ideology on modern day school children. Zephyr nodded sagely, ignoring his own book, a treatise on French Occupation during the 19th century, in favour of listening to his older 'brother'.

Flex sighed and wondered at the odd emotion tightening his chest as he looked at his family.

He felt… full.

Content.

Happy.

He allowed himself a smile and tugged Skye closer. "Skye, can you think of what we would have said a year ago if we could see us now?"

"I would have had myself committed," she laughed, "Or booked in for a long stay in Psy Ops."

"But now?" Flex sipped his beer and lay his cheek over her head.

"Now I couldn't imagine life any other way."

"Yeah," he agreed.

"You think this is what normality is?" she asked curiously.

Flex looked at the sixteen year old correcting the theory of evolution; the thirteen year old discussing King Lear with a nine year old and the six year old with post traumatic stress happily poking a butterfly.

"It may not be normality," he said contentedly, "but it certainly is perfection."

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Geminangel- Cheers pet, its nice to find someone waiting patiently!

Crazy- Vampire Slayer- Uberfun? Ooh I like that. I think Pix got his wish here, he is so cute! More Anna/Ralph in the next part.

Aleclovemax- did I not mention that I have no idea what these kids are up to?

Elle6778- If Pix doesn't crack under the pressure then I sure as hell am! I have no idea where this is going btw! LOL, lets have scary poll- who scare you more, Ben or Anna? The UST has been R. Glad you like the site!

Ronda TIW- As far as I am concerned there is one man for Drew. That's all I'm saying at this point

Mely- Eerie, okay I get that. Have I ever let you down before? Trust me.

Moonlite star- Cheers pet, glad you like. The next chapter has a very long Anna/Ralph part, they do need screen time. Glad you love the Drew/Ben part. That was the scene I had in mind for ages. It was almost preordained. Greeks are cuteness itself.

Angel of Darkness231- One word- Thanks. Not heat so much as animal instinct—would you need an excuse to kiss Ben?

Fangedangel- Hence the title- dark sarcasm. It was the Ben scene that was in my head, their meeting was like a mini movie and yes it was dark. I don't think it could have been played any other way.

Chaosti- Hey pet, wondered where you had been! LOL, twist slammed? Cool. It was slightly left fieldish wasn't it? Anna and Ralph are starting to grow on me big time- it's like a Xena and Gabrielle deal without the sexual undertone. LOL, naked Flex? Okay then. Your wish and all that. Ahh now you asked that I will have to have something go wrong in TC- see what happens when reviewers ask silly questions?

Pookie vampires- lovely name, pet! I wont hurt you since you sent such a sweet review- many thanks. If you review I'll try to update faster. Promise. Yay ooh pretty awards- many thanks pet, that's a lovely thing to say. As for Drew/Ben- your wish is my command.

Kelzaa- LOL, I'm back! Thanks for reviewing and I think Drew has other things on her mind at the minute than the call.. but I wouldn't put it past her.

Shyleigh3- I made you speechless? Yay me!

Nevanroy- I'd happily swop bad/good for a WOW any day. Gracias. I'll try to not leave you too long again.

Ganko- I must feed my addicts! I must deal to my addicts. Here's more to keep you going. The greeks are easy to write, they just seem to flow, I love them! Thank you for the praise. I think Dark Ben is eerily good. You had goosebumps? YAY!

Gamegirl452- Cheating is such a harsh word…but yeah. it'll give them something to talk about at least. Its like a triangle…quadrangle..or something.

Toniboo- would I do that to you? Actually don't answer that. Left behind was very early Fayth work and I went back and cringe over the spelling and punctuation mistakes, I am gradually rewriting it again when I get a few moments. People will get back together about chapter 16ish.

Lynn-50670- Tank you, I wonder what Zack is thinking now about Ben. Hmm, might have to write that. And THANK YOU for mentioning the black book- it was exactly what I was hoping for to get over my damn writers block. It made the Pix scene and so I dedicate my scene to you.

BlackRose9- Glad you liked it, I can promise a confrontation between Anna and White very soon. Promise.

Mrs- intense and emotional- good way of putting it there. See I wouldn't leave Jay out- she's a good character.

Natacup82- LOL, Dude? Is that a verb or adjective? Yes please buy Ben some Prozac…or restraints.

Lotamoxie- Exactly, whilst Drew is unstable, she's steadier than Ben- which is to say that not very. Her reasons are explained and I too am a D/D. I adore Pix and love his vulnerable side, he's not just a joker. I will update honest.

Amelya- Hi there, I'm not totally sure how the pairings are going to fall. All I know is that the characters are growing up and changing in personality. So that makes the pairings unreliable as some are going apart and some are getting closer. I admit that even I didn't realise the potential between Drew and Ben until it happened and now… well we'll have to wait and see.

Tiggi- writers prerogative to be insecure I think. Ben needed a larger character before we could delve into his past so I think it behoved me to wait a while. Plus I just love him now, even his dark parts. Dek/Max spinoff? I would love… someone else to write that! LOL. Yes Chance is down becase of the Shark DNA thing but that should be better now.

Bluejean452- Confused is good. Ben was always a killer but a restrained one. I hope this made this make more sense. If not email me and I'll se what I can do.

Sarah- Hey pet, Everyone wants both Drew/Ben and Dek/Drew which will be hard to fulfil since I am not into threesomes! I'll see what I can do here though. More Greeks too.

L80bug- I wondered where you had gone to! Have Fayth in me pet, I have never done you wrong before have I? Ummm… have I? I'm blaming it on restructuring after the pulse with school years. I think I meant she was in 6th form which in the UK is 16+ but I'll have another look.

Blueangel137- Am I a smartass myself? Yes! LOL. My mouth got me in so much trouble at school. I made my RE teacher cry on my first day and got a letter sent home before I had been there a week. More Greeks here for ya to say Awww!

Manema- Theres a vote for Drew/Dek. Ben is scary isn't he? MAL stands for Moving Alongside. MAH stands for Moving Ahead. It's the stories before this one.

Cleo-cat- hey, its nice to hear from you! I think the kids take away some of the teen angst that surrounds each chapter and adds an element of innocence to things. As for the Ben thing; It is a hard plot to get involved in, its hard to think that characters you like can be so evil, but thanks for staying with it. Thank you again.

Feenian- LOL, one word and I just get "good" c'mon girl! Dramatic is good. Funny is good. Ooh more Skye Flex as requested and I will have more of them in the next one too. They are mates now. I will have to do some flashbacks of that.

Wendy10- Hey there. Thank you very , very very much.

Lyndsay- Yeah Drew was very much in my mind with the very first chapter even if she wasn't established until much later. I liked her. Ben's layers are what make him so different to Alec and boy can I not wait until they meet! The explanation for Drew kiss is here, does it make sense to you? Isacar rules supreme, I love that kid! I should sell Pix hugs!

Sweettweety06- LOL

Jade-k- Cheers pet, powerful- I like that.

Elfie- I think my brain must exist on a different level to everyone else- these things are almost natural to me. Isacar has more in common with me than I think! I know I had to read HP and the OH MY GOD HE IS SO NOT THE HALF Blood PRINCE! Ahem. Sorry about that. Ralph, I think, is too tenacious for her own good, but damn if she isn't good for Anna. Yes the attic scene was like a mini movie. Scary what foes on in my head isn't it? I love Pix, I think I might make a placard for it!

Erak- I don't think Ben needs curing, I think he need a big ass hug- any volunteers?

Madan- LOL, I think its been a while since I have kidnapped anyone, but I am glad that you like them so much. You are Anna? I'm not sure to be scared about meeting you now! I used to hate OC's so I know where you are coming from. The trouble is that I adore these guys so much!

Havock- Tea is good. Chocolate is better… except for that pesky diet. Oh well. No you don't look like Emma (gives you a strange look) she is tall, thin and a redhead whereas you… are not! Drew ands Ben in Psy-ops together- like day trip?

Meri24- Do you want him saved? He is cute when he is crazy! He'll stop because she is there to keep him in line. I hope Drew explained things to your satisfaction.

Aku-neko- Yes you are inflating my ego, but I need it! Thank you so much. Its odd but I agree although Drew/Ben action did take up mot, Pix does shine out. It is unusual to see him so "out there" that it makes it all for you. I'm glad that you like rereading the LB universe. I have to admit to rewriting some of my earlier stuff for posting when I'm done. Punctuation and grammar errors that make me wince now!

Sigma1- Plenty of Drew…uh I hope that is a good thing. I'm feeling very Ben vibes in this review do I take it that Ben/Drew is not to your liking… or that you just want me dead? Either way is fine. clears throat nervously and backs away asking Chaosti for that flamethrower) I did say there were a few minor twists. Trust me!

Fadingphantom- I blinked and missed it. Hormones are between them as well as animal instinct. Drew makes more sense than that, I hope. LOL the change of pace was intentional. It has been building for some time and needed some action ere. The drew/Ben thing might seem squicky but trust me on this. It'll work out. Lightening flashes- dammit I knew I missed something!

Aria-Chan- thanks pet, will do.

Kim- Anna is cool, ain't she. Winces before you get to 11. LOL, I can imagine you sitting there yelling at your computer! I loved the Drew/Ben interaction. I think that Ben's psychosis was simmering below the surface and needed to be played upon. The full blown attack might have been sudden but I think it played well. Intensely sadistic and the kiss leading to… well. Watch for that.

La Vito- She loves Dek, she really does. But Ben is… well. See above.

L80bug- okay, allrigt already!


	13. 13a Bittersweet

**Hey all, okay so this is another chapter that had to be sliced in two- basically because i got so interested in what Anna was doing that i forgot this was bout all of them. Those that don't like Anna won't like part A so i will post partB sometime next week. _33 reviews_**

**Some love the Drew/ Ben thing and some hate it. I have no idea where it's going so any ideas are welcome. (My sister is sitting behind me singing "Drew and Ben, Drew and Ben" I think we know what her preference is.)

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**Chapter 13a Bittersweet.**

The dark woods were a perfect foil for all kinds of night creatures. Here in the darkness nocturnal predators came into their own and those with a predilection towards the sunlight huddled deep in their nests and prayed for the dawn.

Anna had never prayed in her life and wouldn't know how even if she was inclined to do so. What she was good at was exactly what she was doing now and that was lying in wait. The guard shifts hadn't altered all week and Anna knew their routines as well as she knew her own. The guards would amble over, exchange cigarettes and news, banter and ridicule, ignoring all security constraints and protocol and would linger for 3 minutes before wandering to the guardhouse for mugs of steaming coffee the colour and consistency of pitch.

They would mingle for a further 2 minutes before they all wandered to the main hut for signing in.

It was during the two minute window that the fence was clear and Anna could make her way into the complex.

So she waited and, as if on cue, the guards came over, their slow gait showing their general disinterest and possibly background in hired security.

Her eyes and sense were keenly sharpened and she knew that she was at her optimum. Nothing was getting past her now.

As the guards slunk into the hut to sign, Anna slid down the tree she had rested in, the bark scraping against her tight black shirt and causing an odd sense of shivers up her spine.

The leaves on the ground were damp from the after-effects of yesterday's storm and provided perfect cover for her footsteps as she made her way through the dense foliage.

Pausing at the edge of the forest, Anna took stock of her situation and ascertained that the guards wouldn't see her. She stepped back quickly and took a running jump at the fence, flying over as easily as if she had been a bird. The air whistled past her face and she luxuriated in the rush of wind cooling her mission- excited face.

Anna tucked and landed silently on the grass far on the other side of the fence and ducked quickly behind a small bush, ensuring that she hadn't missed any of the guards or alerted any of the security cameras.

Her first point of call would be to get inside the building.

Via surveillance she had noted that there were several sensors and checkpoints in order to get into the building; handprint identification that had gone out of fashion during the Pre-Pulse wars; superior retinal imaging and, of course, a key code.

There was no way that Anna was willing to wait to find one of the codes. She was in too much of a hurry to get this White character out of her face.

Whilst she wasn't particularly known for her patience and forbearance, Anna knew, deep inside, that she was pushing all the limits on this case. The simple truth was that White scared her. No, more than that; he terrified her.

She had thought that she had done away with being vulnerable as soon as she had passed childhood and had learned how to work the system within Manticore to her benefit. She had promised herself that she would never again be the victim; never again be the one that cried in the night whilst the Trainers mocked and laughed; never again be tied down by doctors and experimented upon like she was a lab rat.

It had only taken seconds for her to realise that White was one who had the means, the opportunity and the motivation to reduce her to that panicking child again. He had taken her out and tied her up; he had reduced her to vulnerability again and that was something that she couldn't forgive, would not forget and she would move heaven and earth and all its denizens to ensure it would never happen again.

To that end Anna found herself far more eager to discharge her duties than common sense would have usually allowed and, as she let her fingers dance over the fuses in the fuse box, ignored the little voice inside screaming at her to take a step back and check for back-up systems.

She disconnected the fuse and then, before she could change her mind, reached in and yanked at the wire, pulling them violently from their positions and throwing them to the floor in a fit of childish pique.

The lights of the building flickered and went out, leaving the large imposing place in darkness.

Reaching up, Anna smashed the window above her head and peeled back the iron railings to climb inside.

So intent on her goal that she didn't see the green lights in the fuse box start to flash.

Manticore had always been the same; No matter whether she had been in Atlanta or Seattle. The buildings smelled the same and felt the same; the walls were the same off-grey colour and the tiled floor felt colder than ice, even when wearing shoes.

Anna had always felt that she could close her eyes and know whereabouts she was in Seattle's facility by the touch of the walls and the smell of the corridor.

That was why the odd sense of Déjà vu took her entirely by surprise and riled her more than she thought possible.

This place wasn't Manticore, it had never been home and yet, it had the same feel. There was the same underlying smell; the smell of death, discipline and direction, of antiseptic, anguish and authority. Her heart began to pound in her chest as she crept down the hall, not wanting to stop for fear that she would hear echoes of feet pounding in formation, of drills and orders bouncing off the walls and into her head.

Anna winced and her hands shook as she wished she could go back. Just go back to her little camp fire, huddle into a ball and pull the covers over her head.

But she was a soldier and didn't get the luxury of cowardice. She had to go on, and go on she would, no matter what it cost her.

Anna moved as silently as she could down the long corridor, cursing the penny-pinching autocrats who refused to spend a few misery dollars to heat the place she was breaking into. Her breath turned to mist as she slid along the icy white walls and she felt her fingers start to tingle with the cold.

She was trying to forget her comforts and attend to her situation when she heard a noise to her left and froze in horror as a short balding man in a lab coat came out of a room his head bowed in contemplation of his clipboard.

She must have made some kind of noise because his head jerked up and he pinned her with a horrified gaze, his hand going for his waist—possibly a buzzer, possibly a gun—and he opened his mouth to sound an alarm.

Quick as a flash Anna's hand whipped out and cut off his words with her palm. Restraining his arm with her slick fingers she dragged him back into the room from which he had sprung and slammed the door with her foot.

Anna had never been one to balk at termination orders and, as such, felt not even a pang when she snapped the neck to the technician. He fell to the floor in a crumpled heap and lay silent.

Anna stared down at him without even a smudge of pity in her eyes and turned to survey the room she had shut herself in.

There was one long wooden bench up against the wall, covered in glass and equipment that wouldn't look out of place in the glass-blowers yearly convention. The walls were stark white and almost blinding in their brilliance with several posters advertising safety and security. The four metal filing cabinets took up the rest of the room and made the room seem that much smaller and colder. Anna shook her head at the inanity of it all and started to leave the room when her toe touched the clip-board that the man had dropped.

The sudden desire to tidy up after herself was a foreign one and so she was surprised when she felt herself bending down and picking it up, the black cardboard stiff in her hands.

There was a sheaf of papers beneath a manila folded clipped to the board.

She turned to place it on the desk when a slip of photographic paper slid out and showed a mildly attractive brunette with dark, haunted eyes. It was those eyes that called to Anna. They reminded her of the ones that stared back at her from the mirror; big black and full of sadness that no amount of training could fully dispel. The difference was that Anna hid hers behind a bitter façade of haughtiness whilst this woman had no such defence in place and allowed the world to see the pain and horror behind the bright orbs. Beneath the photo of the woman were inscribed the words:

_Test subject Alpha b_

Frowning, Anna let her eyes scan the rest of the paper and felt a corresponding thumping as she reached the bottom.

**Test Subject Alpha B.**

**_Female,_ D.O.B. 13/07/05. Date of initiation: 21/04/21**

**Gene sequence: Code A. TTT, CTA, GAT, TAA ver.**

**Blood Type: ABO- Blood Chimera.**

**Potential for breeding: Affirmative pending blood work.**

**Potential for host monitoring: Acceptable**

**Risk assessment for mortality: 56- Acceptable loss.**

**Comments:**

**_26/04/21_ Subject was originally both obstructive and truculent but with Phenobarbital and Prochlorperazine mixed with ECT, subject was rendered docile. Able to plant foetus.**

**_02/05/21_ Upped dosage of Prochlorperazine, subject hallucinating**

**_13/05/21_ These levels of drugs would not adversely affect genetic patterns and allow subject to be examined without need for restraints. Suggest behavioural modification.**

**_23/05/21_ Cognitive re-appraisal therapy a success. Subject compliant.**

**_31/05/21_ Injected subject with first test gene sequence, Target A.**

**_09/06/21 _Second dose of test group A. Positive signs of regrowth and thickening.**

**_11/06/21 _Test taken. Subject confirmed- progeny expected.**

**_24/06/21_ Minor complications resulting from Barbital use. Subject regained faculties, restraints in use in case of self-harm.**

**_01/07/21 _Mental ability called into question. Risk assessment for subject's foetal development. One month's examination required and requested.**

**Request granted.**

**_01/08/21_ Progeny accelerating growth at unexpected rate. Monitoring essential.**

**_19/08/21_ Progeny self-terminated. Insufficient data to ascertain rationale.**

**_23/08/21 _Subject intolerant to drug, upped dosage. Progeny extracted. Two months before re-implantation to occur. Feed on hormone regeneration and muscles relaxant.**

**_03/09/21_ Subject introduced to new course of stimulants. Aware and cognizant.**

**Current location- Held in Cell C, Block 4a.**

Anna felt a sick lump come to her throat as she realised what was going on. This woman had been effectively captured and tortured. She had been impregnated and drugged against her will and was currently being held here in some sort of cell.

Pity like she had never felt towards a stranger welled up insides her as she recognised the feelings of helplessness that this woman must be going through and the reason for the pain in her eyes. But she had no time to go off saving others when all she wanted to do was to kill Ames White.

In sheer frustration, she slammed her hands against the nearest filing cabinet and gave a smirk of satisfaction as the impact popped the lock and the top draw slid open. She would have barely given the cabinet a second glance except that it was full of folders and files like the one she held in her hand.

Full.

Anna plucked out a folder at random and her face fell white as she scanned the contents; _Lobotomy… hydration exposure… implantation_.

She dragged out another and another and her hands shook as she took in the other three metal cabinets, each six drawers high. The files dropped to the floor.

All these people, used and abused by Ames White and his compatriots. Maybe she should…

No. No, she couldn't do this.

She didn't care about other people. They were a commodity to be used and thrown aside. Manticore didn't allow for weakness. It didn't allow for sentimentality or softness. Feelings were a weakness that could be used against you and often were. She had learned that lesson and learned it well.

Look what had happened to B.J., he had been taken away and almost destroyed because of her and his feelings, and she had been ostracised by her peers for what had happened. A back-log of bitterness that she thought she had eradicated welled up inside her and she bit down on the emotion before it could develop.

She was Anna—X5-291, she didn't _have_ feelings. Just ask anyone.

She crossed her arms over her stomach, hating herself for drowning in self-pity when she should be all about the mission.

She glanced down and on top of the pile of discarded files was the photo of Test Subject Alpha B with her haunted eyes looking accursedly at Anna.

"I don't care," she whispered. "They didn't make me to care."

_They didn't make us to have names and identities,_ Max's voice came to her suddenly. _They didn't make us to be people, we made ourselves. I named you Anna- it means gracious._

Gracious- It meant polite, merciful, kind-hearted and compassionate. Well, that was a misnomer if ever she'd heard one. She had never been kind hearted or compassionate.

_We make ourselves._

"Shit!" Anna slapped herself against her temple and cursed Max in seven languages as she scooped up the file.

_Cell C. Block 4a._

Anna shook her head and reached for the clipboard dropped by the scientist on the floor which had held the file. The papers that she had absently noted were suddenly important and as she scanned the pages her eyes gleamed in furious delight at the bounty of information that they held; information that would be essential to Pix and the resistance back at Terminal City. She had a moment of doubt that this was genuine information: after all, it was foolish for them to have this top secret stuff out in the open. But maybe they were so arrogant that they didn't believe anyone could ever break in. It was possible, especially when you factored in that Ames White seemed to spear-head the operation. He was the epitome of arrogance.

Mind you, if they had this written down for everyone to see, maybe they had other useful means to help her.

She flipped the clipboard over and, sure enough, there was a map on the back.

Anna quickly memorised it and headed for the stairs, all the while cursing her erstwhile commander.

The lower levels of this facility reminded her of the walkway to Psy Ops and, despite having only been there once for testing, it was indelibly imprinted on her memory. The walls were so squeaky clean and yet there was a hint of something greasy that not even bleach could eradicate. It felt like you were filthy with an irremovable sin and it weighed you down as soon as you hit the lower levels.

Anna felt her feet start to drag and she wished that she hadn't bothered to come down.

The cool air enclosed her and she felt shivers which she attributed to her love of warmer climates and she spared a thought for where her fellow soldiers could be right now.

_B.J. was probably with Aiden and Steve, living it up someplace warm with women and alcohol. _

Left at the staircase.

_Max was probably holed up with Alec and Zan fighting furiously over her whilst she sat back unaware. Pix and Chance would have made it to Terminal City by now and would be with Feen and Techie ruling the pile of rubbish that was Terminal dump-heap. Biggs would never have left Sunny and they were so close to Emma that all three would perhaps be searching for Chance. _

Down a level towards the total basement.

_Metz, Drew and Dek would have their own little ménage a troi and be staying at a place with enough mirrors to satisfy the vanity of the annoying Italian._

Odd that she hadn't seen any guards.

_Flex would stay with Skye and maybe even Cece and Tara—he always enjoyed having a harem. That would leave Coco, who had always been friendly with Anna… well as much as anyone was._

Anna stopped dead as she heard footsteps ahead and she tucked herself against the far wall and tried to fade into the shadows.

A trio of guard heavily armed stormed inches past her hiding place and Anna slid backwards silently.

The weapons that they had held were top of the range fighting machines and way out of most governmental budgets. Anna fingered the pages that she had lifted from the clipboard and tucked into her pocket. She would have time to study them later and maybe they would shed light on who was funding this operation.

As she peered around the edge she saw the almost uniform construction that let her know that she had come up to the cell block.

The sign above let know that the block she wanted was two over and she had to creep silently through the enclosure where the cells were housed.

Thankfully these cells were empty of everything but the smallest bacteria and she was glad that she wasn't about to orchestrate a mass outbreak.

One of those in a life time is enough for anybody.

As she approached Block 4a she could tell it was the place that housed the prisoners as it was the only block with security teams, a laser print ID and cameras.

Oh, and several armed guards.

"Shi—" she bit off the curse and smacked her head back against the wall, wishing to Manticore and back that she hadn't just grown a conscience.

It was dammed inconvenient.

The only way in was through those glass doors and through security.

What she needed was a distraction.

As she rubbed her hands together she tried to recall every distraction technique that Manticore had ever taught her, but all she could come up with was one that Pix had used during a mission. It was gross and undignified… but it'd get the job done.

The security guards on the other side of the glass partition were wondering why on earth they had pulled off perimeter watch to keep an eye on two prisoners. Although it wasn't their place to question Agent White they couldn't see the necessity of **two** guards of their talents watching two such lacklustre prisoners—let alone six of them!

The woman was so far gone that she'd need several canisters of coffee fed intravenously before she even managed to open her eyes and as for the other…

Well, they'd rather not be around the freaky skinny-looking man with odd eyes and a grudge on his shoulder. Still, he didn't look dangerous.

They were so bored that they took several seconds before they registered the faint "plop" of something landing on the glass partition.

The nearest guard frowned and peered at the pink smudge on the glass and cocked his head.

"What the hell is that?" he asked, looking up at the ceiling.

"Whole goddamn place is falling to pieces," another grunted. "Figures."

"I dunno, this looks odd," he said.

As he went to step back, another pink smudge landed on the glass.

"What the hell?" he glanced down and saw a pink blob on the ground. "Hey guys, look at this."

All six guards, who were obviously chosen more for strength than brains, moved to see what he was looking at. In the cell the skinny man quickly looked up, his eyes suddenly alive.

"What do you think it is?" they asked each other, trying to work out what was pink, blob-like and falling from the sky.

"Yo, Joe," a guard called to the security man in the security box. "Open the doors, I wanna see what it is."

Joe, who was watching the ball-game, just shrugged and popped the doors to the enclosure.

As they slid open two of the guards stepped forward and knelt down by the pink blob.

"Smells fruity," the taller one said.

"Like cotton-candy," the other remarked.

"Oh, so it's raining candy-floss," another said wryly, betraying his British origins.

"Let me see." Another stepped out into the corridor and was so intent on the only piece of action all day that he failed to see a dark haired virago step into the hallway and hold up her gun. "Idiots! That's gum!"

"Men!" she sighed and pulled the trigger before they even had chance to look up.

Unlike Ralph, Anna knew not only how to assemble but how to fire her gun and her aim, worthy of Special Ops, had her enemies on the floor before they could draw a last breath.

The security guard had ducked down in his booth as the gunfire echoed and his hand went for the security alarm.

"Bad idea," a rough voice said gruffly and Joe stared up into the dangerous glinting eyes of the skinny man in Cell C-A. The man who had been in Cell C-A.

"How did you—" Joe started to say but the man just grinned maliciously.

"Oh please! Like you could hold me if I didn't want to be held."

And with that he reached down and snapped his neck like it was a pretzel.

Anna stared at the barcode on the back of his neck as he straightened. "Is there a reason you didn't do that a while ago?"

"Yes," he left it at that and went to leave.

"What about her?" Anna gestured to the woman lying comatose in the room.

"Med-junkie." He shrugged. "Should I care?"

Anna bit her lip. "She comes with us."

He rolled his eyes. "Great, I get rescued by a bleeding heart."

Anna almost laughed at the description of herself. "Hardly. I'm all for mixing their plans."

The man smiled dangerously. "Then I'll grab an arm and you take a leg."

The woman was far heavier that she had a right to be and yet far lighter than Anna would have said was healthy for a woman her size.

Between Anna and the male transgenic hauled the woman to her feet and were shocked when she started to regain awareness, grunting and fluttering her eyes. By the time they were almost at the exit the woman was able to walk herself, stumbling and holding on to Anna.

The male had dropped her as soon as he could and took point, blurring ahead to check that the coast was clear.

"What the hell were you doing here?" Anna demanded as they rounded a corner and he had to blur to snap the neck of a waiting guard.

"Got caught," he said.

"Doing what?"

"Taking a piss… what's it to you?" he snapped.

"Gee someone obviously lucked out on attitude DNA!" she snapped back. "Don't bite the hand that opened the door, pal."

"Yeah, yeah, hail the saviour," he rolled his eyes. "Damn you're Manticore, you should know that we weren't raised to be chumps, why the hell are we dragging this dead meat along with us?"

"The dead meat is currently staring at you, kid," Anna snarled. "And we are taking her along with us because… it's the right thing to do. I think," she added under her breath, not entirely sure that it was the smart thing to do.

"The right thing?" he frowned. "Why?"

"Don't start! Hell, if I know, I've just started getting that conscience-y thing. I haven't had time to analyse it yet, but I'm sure it boils down to the fault of my esteemed pal 452. Bitch." Anna was finding it surprisingly comforting to snarl about Max. It almost felt comforting, like old times and she spared a pang of nostalgia for her bitch-fights with the raven haired transgenic. She breathed a sigh of relief as she realised that she was coming up to the exit.

"You know 452?" he asked suddenly interested.

"That's what I'd like to know."

Anna and the male looked up and their hearts sank as they saw Ames White standing as bold as brass in the middle of the corridor surrounded by big burly men in suits.

"Well, hello there," White grinned nastily. "Sorry our accommodations weren't to your liking. We hope you'd stay."

"The beds were crap and frankly the service lacked something," the male transgenic said icily.

"I thought scum like you were used to taking the floor. After all, we don't usually allow animals on the furniture."

"You're not exactly 100 tie-dyed homo-sapiens yourself," Anna said as she slipped the papers into the man's back pocket.

He glanced over his shoulder and she nodded to him to take up the left side. He reached down to tick the papers into his pocket more securely and flanked her.

"Now you look familiar," White looked at her. "Have we met?"

"Briefly," Anna smirked. "I stole your van—my bad! How is Cyril?"

White's eyes narrowed. "So you're the bitch that escaped from me…and now you've come back, like the proverbial lamb to the slaughter. How delicious."

"You really need to work on your repartee," Anna said disdainfully. "You're like every bad B-movie villain from the twentieth century. If you weren't handicapped by your lack of height, I might even laugh."

"Tell me where to find 452 and I might let you go free. I also want our test subject back. It takes a lot to get them in her condition and she is due another… session."

"No," the woman whimpered and tried to shuffle backwards.

"What do you want with her?" Anna shook her head. "Trust me she is far more trouble than she's worth and 452—huge pain in the ass!"

"As are you. Tell me where to find 452 or you die."

"Bite me!"

"As you wish." One of the men leaned forward and whispered in White's ear and as his grin grew Anna's heart fell.

"Perhaps we can persuade you another way. Give her and 452 up—" he yanked a familiar blonde head out from behind him "—or the little girl gets it."

Anna's heart pounded as she stared at the scared face of Ralph.

Ralph shook her head in despair. "I didn't move. I swear."

"No, apparently one of my more enterprising guards saw the secondary alarm flare and decided to check out the perimeter. He found this little miss out in the woods."

"You didn't by-pass the secondary alarm?" the transgenic, which Anna was starting to call Annoy, looked at her with disbelief.

"I was a little strapped for time," she defended herself.

Annoy shook his head. "And you seemed so sensible as well."

"Asshole," she muttered and turned her attention back to the megalomaniac who was holding her lackey in his filthy arms.

"You remember I said about people who were more trouble than they were worth? She's the worst of the bunch. Trust me on this."

"I don't have time for all this ridiculous banter," White sneered. "There is no choice. Hand over the girl and the whereabouts of 452 or I kill the little munchkin."

Anna looked at Ralph whose face was turning paler as they spoke.

_I would not be nice to you and I wouldn't care if you got hurt…or worse. If you get captured I will not save you_

_I will not save you._

Anna shrugged, her eyes hard. "Go ahead, means nothing to me."

Ralph's gasp and White split second hesitation was all that Anna and Annoy needed to spring into action. Dropping the woman against the wall Anna lunged at White and hit him around the head with the end of the rifle she had managed to keep hold of.

Annoy headed straight for the guards and managed to shock them all by vanishing into thin air.

"What the—" the man he had started to attack froze in uncertainty and then his eyes widened and blood dripped from his mouth.

He fell to the floor and Annoy appeared behind him, holding a blood-soaked knife. The other three men stared at him in horrified intrigue and Anna managed to pull Ralph out of White's grasp and shoved her toward the woman.

"Get her out!" she snarled and shot another guard point blank in the head. He fell to the ground and Anna and Annoy were left with White and two other guards.

"Cool trick, can you do it again?" Anna hissed as they backed up.

"Nope, one per turn," Annoy said.

"That's not so cool."

"Excuse me and my DNA analysis," he snapped. "It's painful enough as is."

"Cry me a river," Anna spat.

White was about to give the order to attack again when they all heard the crunch of feet coming towards them from behind.

"Shit!" Anna cursed again as she glanced behind her. "Sounds like six."

"Nine vs. two is not my idea of playing fair," Annoy sang.

Anna dropped her head and whispered. "No matter what happens to me, get those papers to Seattle- Terminal City. I'm Anna."

Annoy looked at her and took in the seriousness in her eyes. "Gotcha."

Anna took a deep breath. "I knew this whole conscience thing would get me killed. I blame Max."

"Well, I'm sure he's real sorry, whoever he is," Annoy answered and Anna grinned.

"Here we go, five—four—three—two—"

Ralph dropped to the floor trying not to gasp as she lay the woman down.

"Ma'am, ma'am?" she poked the woman whose eyes fluttered open and shut. "Dammit!"

Tears of frustration lit in her eyes as she thought about the scene she had just left. She should have stayed behind and helped. But she knew that without a weapon she would only have been in the way and Anna had specifically told her to leave.

She had done as she was told and stayed in the copse with the camping gear and had even gone as far as to pack it all up knowing full well that they might have to leave in a hurry. She had been so engrossed in clearing up the last remnants of their presence when a crack of a twig alerted her to someone behind her.

Before she could move she had been grabbed by two men and dragged into the compound. Then they had dragged her to where White stood arguing with Anna and she had said… she had said…

"Wake up," Ralph rocked the woman, biting her lip hard to stop tears. "Wake up, Anna didn't rescue you so you could die already!" she swiped her hand against her nose and searched for the water bag.

"Drink!" she ordered, happy to be able to take some of her frustrations out. The woman lifted up her head and a gasp rattled through her body.

The only sounds in the clearing were of Ralph's sobbing breaths and the ominous rattle of the woman's breathing.

The night had never seemed to frightening to Ralph and she grabbed the box that held the secondary gun. She swiped the tears away with the back of her hand as she opened the case and looked at the separated fragments and tried to remember how to fix it.

Why hadn't she listened properly? Why was she such an idiot when it came to things like this?

"The bolt goes to the… the cam pin attaches to the…" she stumbled and let the tears flow thick and fast over her face. "I don't know! I don't know!" She slammed the lid shut and searched for the hunting knife instead.

She knew how to use a knife.

The crunch of footsteps through the undergrowth had her on her feet and shaking, aiming herself at the source.

"C-come on out, I -I'm armed!"

"Glad to hear it," Anna said as she leaned heavily on the tree trunk.

"Oh!" Ralph launched herself at Anna and threw her arms around her before bursting into noisy sobs. "I thought you… I was alone... and you were… you're not… I'm sorry… I—"

"Yeah," Anna breathed deeply and she hugged Ralph hard. "Me too."

Ralph took a step back. "How did you get out?"

Anna just smiled tiredly and moved forwards into the small slivers of light, letting Ralph see the long bloody tear down one arm and the blood that covered her almost from head to toe.

"It was easy," she said as she fell face down on to the ground.

"Oh, hell!" Ralph panicked. "What do I do?"

"Pack up, we have to go," Anna moaned.

"I'm packed, we can go now."

"Good girl," Anna breathed and rolled over. "I need you to do me a favour."

"Anything!"

"My leg is broken but the real problem is my arm." Ralph glanced down at the limb and paled, it was—

"That bastard, White, pulled it from its socket as I leaped over him." Anna took another breath as she remembered the pain that had come as he used to torn limb to slam her against the wall. "I need you to pop it back in so we can go."

"Okay," Ralph replied shakily, her admiration for this woman growing in leaps and bounds.

"Distract me, this is gonna hurt like a Renfro-bitch!"

"D-did the other guy get out?" Ralph let Anna brace herself against a tree and she grabbed the elbow.

"Yeah, he took papers and headed to Seattle, they should be glad of them at Terminal- Ahhhhhhhh!" Anna screamed in pain as Ralph popped the limb back into its socket.

"Sorry!" Ralph squeaked and went white. "I'm gonna be sick."

"Why did I get the one who flunked field med?" Anna gasped and rested her head against the bark.

"That was payback for saying you didn't care if he killed me."

"Good, at least you're learning." Anna lay on her back and rolled over to where the woman lay. "She alive?"

"Just," Ralph said bitterly. "But she doesn't sound too good."

"Neither would you if you'd been through what she has," Anna intoned and rested her palm against her aching collarbone. "We have to move out, get some shelter and regroup." She looked at Ralph. "Can you handle that?"

Ralph nodded, grim determination showing in her face. "I will."

Anna smiled. "Good girl, you did well."

A rare compliment was all Ralph needed and she stood up, ready to grab their belongings. She hesitated briefly. "Anna, can you show me how to assemble the gun again? I want to get better at it. All of it."

Anna watched her as she went over to grab their things. She may never be a people person but she could do gracious. At least for a while.

Tbc...

* * *

Meri24- its great that you were excited, I know I get that way when I have posted! More Anna/ Ralph interaction here.

Blackrose9- the spec ops reunion starts with the very next instalment, hope you like it. Anna is a fave now, even though I did hate her at the start.

Sigma1- someone said that you catch more flies with honey… although why you'd want to catch flies is beyond me. I adore Pix and love the way his character is unfolding for me. I swear will sort the Drew/Ben thing out… probably. Flamethrower on standby.

Toniboo- sorry but there's this nasty thing called RL. I would spend all day writing if I didn't have to work and, ya know, eat. Enjoy all the same.

Ronda TIW- LOL in fact ROFLMAO. I actually agree, I never saw Ben as looking like Alec for some reason. As for their meeting up with Dek- oh wont that be delicious.

Bluejean452- cheers pet, I can't wait for that either, it'll be a blast to put Dek/Ben and Alec in a room. Sigh.

Mely- cheers pet, glad you like. Cece and Josh have bonded, don't they rock! Although chap 13 was too long to catch Krit action, I managed to slip BJ into the next part for ya. Check it out.

Fadingphantom- I think it'll be good for Pix to keep the leadership and it'll make him much better. Galen rocks… as always. I think Drew was probably not thinking. She's had so much to deal with recently and with this on top of it all, she's going for a carpe diem feel to it all.

Angel of Drakness231- Whoo hoo, Ben covered in hot chocolate! Cec and her hormones will be making more than one comeback; I have THE classic line for her soon, one that even I am proud of. The 09ers? Oh there they are!

Pookie vampires- Bless ya, I'm sure I loff you too, cute review and all. This had less of everyone but way more action. Enjoy.

Kim- Kisses to computer reportedly works better. But mine does work better with threats. (just joking Gerschwin! Pats computer quickly) I know what you mean, Anna's a bitch, a pure-bitch nasty witch and yet there is something that makes me like her. Ben is twisted and I think that that works right now.

Geminangel- the Greek family are adorable and they have more closeness than you'd think. Check out the next chapter for Greek-goodness.

Abandon Structure- Hey there, nice name btw. Glad that you enjoy the series, how long did it take you to read? It takes me forever and a day!

Gamegirl452- Cheers pet. Yup Sunny and Biggs are on their way to TC as we speak.

Aku-neko- LOL. You rebel you! So glad that you liked Anna and Ralph because- hey more here. The one liners of Anna's tend to have my sister in hysterics. Glad the whole Drew/ Ben scene jibed for you, some are having trouble with it. I think Pix and Max have far more in common that Pix and Chance when it comes to this leadership thing and I am sure that they will confide in each other. Yes we have a few more clues about Nyx and Icarus' past in the next chapter.

Nevanroy- LOL, I managed to dodge the rapid fans and go into hiding with just a pencil, old till receipt and a can of spam. It's been hell. Back now and being forced to write at gun-point. Send chocolate.

Sarah- Cece and Joshua are a great couple, so funny together and I love the Greeks too. Everyone comes together more soon.

Lynn-50670- I do leave you hanging- just so that you'll come back for more!

Erak- Spinning in a good way or a bad way? Drew/ Ben yay or nay? Yes this chapter is just before the SF of the same number. So at this point in the story Max has made the transmission and on her way back to TC.

Moonlite star- Ralph- for once, did as she was told and look what happened. Painful though it is. Pix as an idol! How adorable was that! I will do my own version of Coco meets the parents. Hehehe.

Manema- Surging forward happens before Pressing Onwards. So this story should run slightly before, but I post awkwardly. Think of it as time travel.

Lyndsay- I'm not sure, to be perfectly honest. I have no idea how the Dew/ Ben/ Dek thing will play out. I know what I want to happen, but whether it actually does is anybodies guess. I was going to kill Anna in chapter 2 and we see how well that has worked out.

Blueangel137- cheers pet, more about the Greeks in the next chapter and please trust me on the Drew thing. I won't let you guys down… I hope.

Elfie- Ralph is a liability of sorts and she should have been trained better. I have no idea what Manticore were thinking when they let her out in the field! I wasn't actually basing Anna on Riddick- having avoided the film purposely (my brother loves it- therefore sibling irrationality means I refuse to watch it. Me and my brother have a somewhat- Anna/ BJ relationship—without sexual tension, obviously. Ew.) Nope Drew was as pure as the driven slush. THANK YOU someone who likes Drew/ Ben. Of course it's going to all come crashing down. Who do you think I am?

Feenian- Ben as a cat- playing and killing- you must have odd cats in your neighbourhood. What will Drew do? What would you do? a nice three—way… ahem! The Manticore stud and the bitch- gotta love it!

Angelkougari- Aw pet, go eat dinner. Flex is sexy but nothing beats food!

L80bug- you nagged me into an update- no nagging this time, which is why it took so damn long!

Lotamoxie- Well she didn't kill her, but it was a close thing. Poor Ralph! Coco and Jason do make a cute couple, don't they?

Elle6778- That's true, Anna isn't as cute as Ben but then Anna would just snap your neck and not pull out your teeth and offer them as a sacrifice. Drew and Ben make sense but don't. I understand that. Yeah the two stories run parallel so we have to backtrack a bit each time.

GuesTypePerson- Yeah Coco is off being happy and so doesn't get much airtime. You have to love her though and be glad that she is going about happily… for now anyway. Jason does know that she is Manticore.

Ganko- Pix is adorable ain't he, I know I love him! Ben back in Terminal City- can't wait to write that one. I just hope that I meet peoples expectations of the scene.

Amelya- Cheers pet, I must admit to loving Drew and Dek somewhat ferociously but we'll have to see how it plays out. So glad you like Anna because she had a lot to do this time around!

Moonlight19- where have you been girl? I missed you like a mad woman and wondered where you had gone! Congrats on teaching sweets, I just got a new job and started driving lessons. My driving instructor is part time driving instructor- part time children's clown. Only I could get that.


	14. 13b Reluctant hope

**Chapter 13b. Reluctant hope**

Jace stared at the man standing in front of her with a sheepish expression on his face. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"What?"

"You have to guess," he said stubbornly.

"You bought it, why do I have to guess?" she replied somewhat petulantly. She was making a big deal out of this, but she was embarrassed, dammit.

B.J. had been acting oddly around her, at least oddly for him, for the past few days and she was at a loss as to what had caused it.

What with Zack constantly hanging around Emma to try to make her feel better and the imminent arrival of several of her siblings, she was more than a little on edge. The only normal one was Zan and he seemed to be getting more distracted each day that they awaited Jondy's arrival.

Zack decided that the best thing for Emma would be to have a few transgenics around who knew what she was going through and Jondy had the same sort of DNA. Of course Jondy had asked Ash if he'd join her and Zack had called Ben.

Who had refused to come.

It had shaken her to see Zack so on edge after that telephone call. Ben and Zack had never got along very well but recently there seemed to be an extra level of tension that no one could understand or penetrate and Jace was wondering what had happened to that sweet little boy who told them stories and kept them all entertained.

She hated surprises which was why she was currently glaring at B.J. who held something behind his back and asked her to guess what it was.

"You are taking all the fun out of this," B.J. said with a pout. "I bought you a present."

Jace blinked. "Oh." That was different. What did men buy women? "Flowers? Chocolates?"

"You're X5," B.J reminded her.

"Guns, ammunition?"

B.J. smiled and held out his hands. "This!" He thrust something small and furry into her hands and Jace immediately looked down to see big black eyes staring balefully up at her from amidst a ball of black fluff.

"It's a cat," she said blankly.

"It's a kitten, actually," B.J. corrected.

She stared at the tiny kitten and then back up at B.J. "It's a cat."

B.J. nodded, pleased. "Isn't she adorable?"

Jace looked at him like he had lost his mind. "You bought me a cat?"

"Yes."

Jace looked at it again. "Why?"

"Why not?" B.J. shrugged.

Jace took a deep breath. "It has no redeeming properties; it has very little aesthetic appeal and no ornamental value. There is not enough substance to constitute any nutritional benefit and we're too close, genetically, for me to consider consuming. It takes time, effort and expense to maintain for very little return. They smell, they shed and are rarely housetrained."

"It reminded me of you."

Jace blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

B.J. hid a grin. "I saw her in the pet shop and she looked up at me and blinked with the cutest brown eyes that I have ever seen and then she yawned and I lost my heart. She was adorable and somehow slinky and sexy at the same time."

"I worry about you."

"She was sweet and cute and then, when I went in to pick her up, she smiled at me and just when I was sure that she was perfect, she reached out… and savaged me." He pulled back his sleeve and showed five long, deep red gouges up his forearm. "I had to have stitches."

Jace ducked her head and looked with new interest at her pet. "Did you do that?" she asked it, feeling somewhat ridiculous. However the kitten gave her a look that seemed to scream satisfaction and Jace could almost see it raise an eyebrow as if to say "yeah, and?"

"She reminded you of me?" Jace asked and B.J. could no longer suppress a smile.

"Yup."

Jace nodded. "She is acceptable."

"You're welcome." B.J. felt pleased and let it show in his grin. "So, what are you going to name her? I was thinking Mely?"

"Mely?" She wrinkled her nose and then shook her head. "I'll think of something," she said and they both looked up quickly as Zan raced into the room.

"Come quick!" he cried. "There is something that you have to see."

Jace and B.J. followed quickly into the dining room and saw Emma and Zack staring at the T.V. set.

"What?" B.J. asked nervously. "Did they run out of Coke or something?"

"I wasn't sure what we were seeing so I hit record," Zack explained as he fiddled with the VCR.

"Ohh!" B.J. groaned. "You recorded over bikini killer biker chicks!"

Emma and Jace shot him identical disgusted looks and he shuffled his feet.

"Never mind."

He watched as Zack hit the play button and a flicker of blue and red bands flashed over the screen.

…_Willows is such a man. You've seen him, smiling at political fund-raisers, kissing your children and pretending to be an upstanding member of the community. _

"So?" B.J. asked disgustedly. "It's that weird Eyes Only guy."

_He has ties to Renfro enterprises and Sandoval construction as well as major outlets in several Wyoming helo-cop factories._

"Okay, got my attention!" B.J. said as the two names jumped out at him. He sat on the sofa by Emma who took his hands. Hers were icy in his palms and he rubbed them together to try to warm her.

… _whilst men are gunned down in public. He is paid to ignore and bury the deaths of five eminent scientists who refused to stop the Tylenol2 complaints coming through. This is medicine that you are feeding to your children which ages and destroys tissue, increases asthma and tuberculo5. Eyes Only will stop this, we are closing in on your operation. This message will repeat every hour upon the hour until you are stopped and the Tylenol2 is taken off the market. This must never happen again. Those responsible are on notice. Their power and privilege will not protect them. They will be held accountable. This has been a streaming freedom video bulletin...via the Eyes Only informant net. Peace...out._

Zack hit stop and they all turned to each other.

"I don't get it," Jace admitted. "It seemed to have nothing to do with Manticore."

"I didn't hear it at first either," Zack said. "Let's tune out his voice."

"Please do," Zan said as he edged on the sofa.

Zack turned down the volume on the set and played it back. This time there were distinctive beeps within the message.

"Morse code?" Jace asked as she listened hard.

B.J. blinked and opened his hand, flapping it open and closed in time to the beeps. He closed his eyes and ignored the odd looks of the rest of the group.

"Something in session," he said quickly trying to translate and keep up. "Initial con-gress at Tuesday 08-00 lo-cation." His hand flapped faster as the beeps got quicker. "Pro-ceed with cau-tion to bill board… five. Instruct-ion will be gimm… given. Repeat, time to come home. Meet for initial con-gress at Tuesday 08-00, bill board 5. This is a code 9…4…6. Message out."

He opened his eyes to their open mouthed stares.

"Did I know you could do that?" Zan asked in amazement. They had all been taught how to decipher Morse code and humans were even capable of quick translation so the Manticore version was subsonic and harder for anyone other that the supersensitive… and dogs… to hear. They were able to hear the high pitched squeaks and clicks but they had to write it down in order to interpret the subsonic beeps and buzzes. He had never seen anyone able to do it in their head.

"What, I can't have layers?" B.J. grinned. "I was main tech, if you'll remember. I did get in to Special Ops."

"I always wondered why," Emma teased, suddenly feeling lighter than she had in months.

Zan suddenly broke into a huge grin and started to laugh out loud.

They stared at him in muted shock. Zan had almost completely withdrawn over the past few weeks. With Zack helping Emma and B.J. annoying Jace he had been the odd one out and had retreated to silence. They could tell that there was something bothering him but as none had ever really been close to him, they felt uncomfortable asking personal questions.

Now as he threw his head back, they felt a release of tension in him that had all of them grinning.

"Has he finally cracked?" Zack asked. "I knew that hanging with you guys for too long was detrimental to your health."

"She's alive!" Zan managed through his laughter. He leaped to his feet and grabbed Emma, planting a huge kiss on her cheek. "I knew it! I just knew it!"

"O-okay," Jace said slowly, thinking that Zan had obviously been in Psy Ops one too many times.

"No, don't you get it?" Zan sped over to her and grabbed her hands, eliciting a squeak of protest from the black bundle in her palm. "She's alive, she made it out and she's safe. Safe, Jace, safe!"

"Good for her," Jace said firmly and moved back, cradling the kitten against her body. "Her who?"

B.J., who was busy glaring at Zan, suddenly clicked with what he was saying. "946! Of course."

Zack gave them both a look. "And 946 would be?"

Emma beamed. "Max!"

"Uh, not to burst your bubble, and all, but Max was 452."

"Duh!" Emma rolled her eyes. "The code she issued on destruction of Manticore was 452 plus 494. Max and Alec equals—"

"Safety," cut in Zan with another happy dance. His blond hair flew behind him as he swung Emma up and around and his face almost glowed with the force of the smile. "Safety, health and happiness."

Jace folded her arms. "You are all crazy; you do know that, don't you?"

"I don't care what you say," Zan said happily. "I get to see my C.O. soon."

"After we decipher the message," B.J. pointed out and he, Zan and Emma immediately sat at the table and wrote out the message, word for word as B.J. had recalled it.

Zack moved over to Jace.

"Why would they assume that Max sent that message? I mean, sure she's important to us, but to them? As for 946 being for her and Alec… whoever he is, it just seems…"

"Odd?" Jace admitted. "What if the message was a phoney, with that White guy behind it?"

"Would Eyes Only let him use it that way?" Zack wanted to know.

Jace looked at her C.O. and shrugged. "Unknown, sir. I haven't had a chance to talk about it to either B.J. or Zan. Have you spoken to Emma?"

"Not about anything substantial," he said darkly. "But whilst they are making inroads into the message. I think we should have a word with Eyes Only."

"Do you think I should call the team in?" Jace asked. "Syl and Krit could take it apart in seconds."

"These guys have had ten years training extra," Zack reminded her. "Let's use their talents while we can."

Jace froze. "Are you planning to leave them?" Her heart pounded at the thought.

"It's easier when we aren't all together. Remember?" he prompted. "Ease of target in smaller groups. With Jace and Ash on their way, that makes seven. Seven transgenics for whomever to take in and take up. I will not sacrifice my crew that way. We'll split up and scatter."

"But—"

"That's an order, soldier!" Zack said, almost in disbelief that she would contradict him.

Jace stood up straight and let her eyes blank over. "Yes, sir." She turned smartly and would have walked away if he had not caught her arm in a bruising grip.

"Insubordination is not sanctioned, soldier," he snapped, his eyes cold.

"Discipline noted, sir. Taken on board, assimilated and accepted. Sir," she spat and wrenched her arm away, storming off with her kitten curled against her arm.

>>>>>

"So, Coco, it is wonderful to finally meet the woman that Jason has waxed rhapsodic about."

Coco smiled broadly, hiding the hint of panic she felt at the unusual situation under a veneer of calm acceptance. "I'm sure he's been too kind."

"Not at all," Jason leaned over to plant a kiss on her cheek. "I told the truth."

Her eyebrows rose. "Really."

"Not everything, of course," he hastened to reassure her and gave the other woman a grin. "Coco is very deep."

"Oh, lovely." The woman lifted her tea cup to her lips and held Coco's eyes with her own steel grey gaze.

Coco grabbed her own cup and wished that it had something stronger in it.

Like arsenic.

She was sat on the sofa amidst a very very full house full of screaming children, boisterous adults and precocious teenagers. She had a migraine and an itchy trigger finger.

How the hell had she managed to get herself embroiled in this, she had no idea.

No. She did actually; and it was all the fault of the blond sitting at her right hand side.

"Oh, come and meet the family," he had said. "My niece's christening party is next week. You can meet everyone."

Wonderful idea. Meet all his family.

Including his mother.

His scarily overprotective mother.

Madeline Ashton-Price was a formidable woman who reminded Coco somewhat of Director Renfro- a comparison she could well have done without. She had ash blond hair with tinges of grey at the crown, held back in an austere bun at the nape of her neck. She was slim and well toned, obviously a regular at the gym, and managed to command all five children and twelve grandchildren with something akin to military precision. Her husband, Walter, didn't stand a chance against her and Coco was beginning to know how he felt.

"So, Coco, what is it that you do?"

"I… recently left the military," Coco decided on the truth… as far as it went.

"The military?" Madeline raised one perfectly plucked eyebrow. "Indeed?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Coco ignored the snarl in her tone. "I was actually on manoeuvres when I met Jason and after we became acquainted I realised that I no longer desired such a nomadic existence and resigned."

"I didn't realise that you could resign from the military."

Coco allowed herself a smile. "My unit was special."

"And what are your plans for the future?"

Coco swallowed. "My plans?"

She watched nervously as Madeline hid a smirk at the tone of panic in her voice and Coco frantically looked elsewhere for inspiration.

There were screams coming from the other room as the children ensconced in there began to ignore the television and concentrate on each other as a form of entertainment. Raucous laughter came from the garden where some of Jason's in-laws convened over a pint of something she wouldn't have touched in a Haz-Mat suit and cackles emerged from the kitchen where the wives had taken up residence. She was firmly in enemy territory and all of a sudden Coco grew annoyed with the interrogation.

She was prime-time kick ass bitch who could bounce this woman to Texas and back.

What the hell did she have to be nervous about? It wasn't like she was _Renfro, _for goodness sake.

Coco leaned back against Jason's chest and let a smile of her own edge through. "I have every intention of continuing to work. Most women need employment to keep things sharp and in focus."

Madeline's eyes narrowed. "Some women find focus, drive and pleasure in tending to their family."

"We have no immediate plans of starting a family," Coco intersected smoothly and felt a slither of glee as Madeline's eyes clouded with the realisation that Coco wasn't as pliant as she had assumed.

"Really?"

"Yes," she stated firmly. "I'm a firm believer in establishing a secure base before allowing infiltration. A solid relationship through time and effort before we attempt procreation should enable a greater harmony and bond with which to instruct and guide our progeny."

Jason grinned. "I love it when you talk military."

"That sounds very… rigid," Madeline pursed her lips.

"Structure is essential in any situation in order for it to be a success," Coco maintained.

"I see." Madeline leaned back regarding Coco with interest. "Jason, perhaps you would be so good as to fetch us the fairy cakes from the kitchen."

Jason looked from between his mother and his fiancée, not sure if leaving them alone was a good idea.

Coco gave him a lazy leer and he got to his feet, safe in the knowledge that she could take care of herself.

Madeline waited until Jason had left the room before turning to Coco.

"You aren't the milk-miss that I thought you were so we won't mince words. Jason is the baby…_my_ baby and if you hurt him, I will ensure that things go very, very badly for you."

Coco sat up and cocked her head at Madeline, regarding her silently. She may be over fifty but there was a core of steel about her and suddenly Coco felt that she was looking into a mirror image of herself in years to come. She could image that loyalty to those she loved would make her as ruthless and almost "Refro-ian" in her attempts to safeguard the happiness of those she cared for.

Madeline wasn't scary, she needed to be reassured that Coco would appreciate and take care of Jason.

Well, that she could give.

"I could snap your neck without breaking a sweat, I could kill you twenty three ways without leaving a mark and yet I won't… because that would hurt Jason. And anyone who hurts _my_ Jason will be beaten to death with a shovel."

Madeline sat back and sipped her tea, a smile curving her lips. "I'm glad we understand each other."

"Perfectly," Coco smiled back and settled back.

Jason came back in carrying a tray and looked at the satisfied smiles of the two most important women in his life.

"Everything okay?"

"Perfectly," they said in unison and Jason became a little afraid.

"Hey Unca Jay-sun!" screamed a voice from the other side of the room.

Coco winced and imagined every dog in the vicinity felt that shrill scream as painfully as she did.

"What is it, Sandy?"

"Bear gone!" the ginger haired brat raced over. "I was watchin' Beear and it all went gone!"

Coco shuddered at the butchering of grammar in that statement and Jason lifted the child into his arms.

"Poor Sandy. Uncle Jason will make it all better." He looked over at Coco. "She was watching Bear in the blue house or something on tv, there's probably a commercial or something."

"And I care because?"

Madeline hid a laugh behind her hand as she excused herself to go get more tea.

Jason smiled at Sandy. "Uncle Jason will put a vid on for you." An imp of mischief made him add. "Here go to Aunt Coco."

He handed the small child to Coco before almost running away.

Coco stared at it in horror. "Jason?" she was ashamed to hear her voice tremble. "Jason, it's a… small person." She looked down at the big brown eyes, regarding her measuring.

"Shoo."

The thing giggled.

"No, really. Shoo."

It giggled harder and laid sticky hands on her skirt. "I likes you."

"Jason!" she yelled.

Jason's head appeared in the doorframe, his face pale. "Coco, it's Eyes Only."

Remembering the broadcast that had resulted in the destruction of her home, Coco leaped to her feet, managing to catch the child before it tumbled to the ground. Wondering what to do with it, she tucked it under her arm and raced to the other room.

The television was blaring away and Coco noted with absent antagonism the deep blue of Eyes Only's eyes. He was blathering about some Senator's misdeeds and she nearly dropped her giggling cargo when Renfro was mentioned.

It was then that she felt a twitch in her left eye and she realised that there was a message hidden beneath the top layer. Coco had never been on the electronics team, preferring to stay in the limelight as much as possible. She had no idea what the beeps meant and knew that she would have to wait for the next broadcast—in an hour—to catch what was being said.

There was a squeak of protest from underneath her arm and she looked down to the forgotten child she was squashing

"Ahh!" She slowly lowered it to the floor and gave a sheepish smile.

The child merely giggled and ran away laughing about her new "Anty" whatever one of those was.

"Coco?" Jason whispered. "Everything okay?"

Coco shook her head distractedly. "There was message hidden in the—" she gestured towards the television. "I think it's about home… uh, Manticore."

Jason bit his lip, a slight feeling of unease as she referred to that place as "home". He wasn't aware of everything that had gone on there, but knew enough to know that it wasn't home in any traditional sense of the word. Unless, of course, you had horns and a pitchfork.

"What can I do?" he spread his arms wide, a masculine gesture of frustration at not being able to do anything to relieve the suffering of his fiancée.

Coco slid to the sofa and rubbed her hands together in nervous apprehension. "He's repeating it ever hour. I should be able to make head or tail of it with another run through."

"I could get someone to record it for us?" he offered as he sat down, taking her hands in his and rubbing them between his, not surprised to find them icy cold.

Coco nodded and gave him a small smile "Thanks."

"Hey," he said with a rueful smile. "Gotta be good for something, right?"

Coco leaned her head against his shoulder going against her upbringing and showing momentary weakness to him. She knew that he occasionally felt somewhat impotent when it came to her self-sufficiency and knew that in order to smooth their way it would take a certain amount of compromise on both their parts.

Jason reached up and ran a hand through her hair. "I'll make us coffee, huh?"

He felt her lips curl against his shoulder and she sighed. "Just what I need."

He kissed her forehead once and rose to get her what she needed and she watched him go with the certain knowledge that what she needed, truly needed, was just walking into the kitchen.

>>>>>>

"So the human body has the ability to regenerate itself, so the burning question is of course… Ryan?"

The tow-haired boy shot upright, obviously not having heard the question. "Uh… yes?" he hazarded.

The teacher rolled her eyes. "Perhaps if you paid a bit more attention to me and a little less to Miss Alcott then you'd actually pass your SATs with something other than dumb luck."

The class tittered at his embarrassment and Isacar grinned himself at how easily the boy had allowed himself to be cornered by the teacher and made a fool of in that manner. He glanced over to the other side of the class where his sister was busy chatting with some of her many new friends and enjoying being the social butterfly.

He shook his head in bewilderment at why she would enjoy people over books and settled back to read the one under his desk.

"Okay, so now we are going to dim the lights and watch the documentary broadcast that was recorded this morning on the regenerative cycle of human skin-cells. Damon, please."

The burly youth jumped off his chair and switched off the light— much to Isacar's annoyance—and hopped back to his seat.

Isacar huffed in irritation as the rest of the class hollered and cat-called with the darkened room, showing their overwhelming immaturity. He knew that he could read if he so chose—one of the great things about being a transgenic with feline characteristics—but it was the point of the thing.

He didn't see why he had to forgo his reading pleasure to attend to someone else's idea of what his education should be—he got enough of that in Manticore.

He slumped down in his seat and tried to ignore the somewhat amorous activities of his fellow students and tried to concentrate on his book. He managed to block out the majority of the slurping of those making out on the back rows and the giggles of those who were watching but couldn't quite drown out the whispered conversations.

He turned the page in annoyance and stifled a yawn; which was when it happened.

There was a sudden crackle from the screen and the documentary faded to black.

"What the he—" the teacher bit off her statement, remembering that she was in a room with impressionable minds… that knew more swearwords than she did.

"Boo yay!" yelled Dudley Affred. "Spies Only!"

"That's Eyes Only—doofus!" Cody Trellis rolled her eyes and twirled her oft chewed hair around her equally chewed fingernails.

Icarus didn't bother to look up but noted the glare of red and blue that flashed across his page.

He tried to concentrate on the words on the page and not those coming from the screen.

_This is a Streaming Freedom Video bulletin. The cable hack will last exactly 60 seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped and it is the only free voice left in the city. _

Isacar rolled his eyes at the posturing of this guy. Give him two hours and enough software and he could hunt the guy down. He reread a paragraph that didn't make sense.

_You've seen him, smiling at political fund-raisers, kissing your children and pretending to be an upstanding member of the community._

Isacar yawned; political scandal, harbinger of death, source of all evil, blah blah blah. He flicked his page over.

_He has ties to Renfro enterprises._

The book dropped to the floor and Isacar froze. No way did that say what he thought it just said.

_and Sandoval construction as well as major outlets in several Wyoming helo-cop factories._

Isacar's heart pounded in his chest and he looked over to where Icarus was looking like she had seen a ghost. Her face was pale and she seemed about to be heavily sick as they both stared at the screen.

Now that he was paying attention he could hear a higher frequency beeping above the normal message and he tried to translate as fast as he could; only managing to catch the tail end of the message.

_This message will repeat every hour upon the hour_

_This has been a streaming freedom video bulletin...via the Eyes Only informant net. Peace...out._

"Peace-out!" laughed half the class and the teacher called for silence as the program resumed.

The excitement had buoyed the whole of the class into higher spirits and the teacher was hard pressed to garner any attention for the rest of the lesson and she switched off the video in resignation.

The whole class, that is, except two ice blond students, sitting on opposite sides of the classroom frozen in pure, unadulterated terror.

When the bell rang the class filed out as fast as possible and only Isacar and Icarus remained in their seats, almost glued to them in horror.

Isacar was the first to move and he slowly bent down to pick up his discarded book. Icarus flinched as he moved so very slowly and she got to her feet.

"Oh. God!" She used an expletive that she had heard a friend use, not knowing what it meant but knowing it expressed exactly what she felt.

"This isn't good," Isacar said, somewhat redundantly.

"Did you catch the underlying message?"

Isacar nodded haltingly. "It was for real. They made the code and everything. They said it…it's time to come h-home."

"I am home," Icarus wailed plaintively, tears springing to her eyes. Do they think that they can just… just…?"

Isacar quickly wrapped his sister in his arms and stared, white-faced at the blank video screen.

"We have to show that to the others, Flex, Skye, Nyx."

"No, no, no!" Icarus cried. "It'll ruin everything."

"We have to allow them the choice at least!" he said, far more harshly than he had intended. He went over to the recorder and removed the video, handling it gently.

Icarus moved quickly and laid her hand over his. "Please." Her cool blue eyes, filled with water pleaded with him. "Just throw it away."

He swallowed. He'd like nothing better but…

"Let's get Nyxie and Zeph, we'll have a vote."

Icarus nodded and followed her brother as they went to decide their fate.

>>

Nyx stared at the ugly plastic scales with the deepest concentration. She was well aware that even the slightest deviancy from the recipe would render her cake a dismal failure and there was no way on this earth, or any other, that she was going to fail at something that Icarus could do with her eyes closed.

Not that she was in competition with the blonde of course: the annoying, ever sunny, typically friendly and overwhelmingly arrogant blonde; who was beginning to be the bane of her existence.

Not that she was bitter, of course, not her. Nyx was beyond that and she was far more mature than the irritating-

Crack

_Oops!_ She almost gasped out loud but was able to stifle it with a panicked look. Nyx looked around quickly, hoping that no one would notice the huge split in the plastic scales as she moved away quickly.

Damn cookery class anyway.

Nyx scowled heavily as she made her way back to her stool. Being a part of the upper-years at this school ensured that she was away from her self-appointed siblings for the better part of the day but also meant that she was alone for the majority of that day.

It wasn't that she couldn't have friends—after her amazing intervention on Isacar's behalf, she had been inundated with interest, both male and female and she was well aware that what she lacked in social skills, she more than made up for in intrigue and mystery.

The point was that she was ten years ahead of all of these teenagers in terms of maturity, intellect and interests. Who wanted to talk about make-up when they could converse on the mechanics of the universe? Of what interest were boys and their fancy cars when she could bypass the security and electronics of the worlds most sophisticated harrier jets and fly them herself?

In her experience, teens were frivolous, fanciful, and, to be brutally honest, a compete waste of time.

Which was why she insisted on sitting by herself and getting her work done as fast as possible.

She glared at the mixing bowl and wished herself a million miles away. So intent was she at ignoring her class, it was several moments before she realised that she was eavesdropping on the two girls behind her.

"—so, I told mom that I so didn't want to take this class and she said that it was, like, mandatory, and I was, like, so what? And she said that it was way useful."

"Yah ha?" The other girl's tone was openly sceptical.

The girl's smirk could be heard in her voice. "After all she said that a way to a guy's heart is through his stomach."

"That's ridiculous," Nyx said before she could help herself.

"Excuse me?" the girl said and Nyx turned.

"The way to a guy's heart is directly through his ribcage. No knife is long enough to penetrate both stomach and aorta; only a broadsword or perhaps an epee. The best way to a heart is with a twelve inch knife, preferably with a serrated edge, through the third and fourth ribs on the left."

The two girls stared at her for a long moment and Nyx bit her lip in sudden consternation and shrugged. "Just my opinion."

She was wondering whether or not to make a run for it when the two girls suddenly burst out laughing.

She sighed in relief as they clutched each other, tears of laughter running down their faces.

"Oh. My. God," one giggled. "You are hilarious."

"Thanks," Nyx said as she turned back to her pudding.

She wouldn't tell them that she had been serious.

"And Miss Nyx, how is your recipe coming along?" her teacher appeared suddenly and gave her a beady-eyed stare that reminded Nyx somewhat of a large insect.

"Depends," she said icily, not liking being watched like a bug under a microscope.

"On what?" Madam Guest asked curiously.

"On whether the bio-hazard department is nearby." She lifted the rock-hard cake mixture onto her spoon and wrinkled her nose.

The two girls behind her burst into fresh giggles and Madam Guest sneered.

"Honestly, Miss Nyx, I would have assumed that you could at least follow orders."

_X6-099, why the hell don't you just follow orders? Think you're a cut above the rest, do you, you little bitch?_

_We'll make you pay._

_All you have to do is follow orders and no one gets hurt_

_No one gets hurt_

_Follow orders_

"Didn't help those at Nuremberg." Nyx's voice was colder than ice and her eyes froze even the determined teacher, who silently backed away and wished she hadn't bothered.

Nyx shuddered, staring down at her shaking hands, her stomach churning with unnamed emotions.

To her utter relief it was only minutes before the bell went and they were dismissed.

She cleaned up her area and threw her dismal attempt at dessert away, wincing at the thud as it hit the bottom of the waste disposal unit. She threw her bag over her shoulder and looked up; only to have her heart thud as loudly as her discarded pudding at the two pale, terrified faces at the window.

Trouble was brewing.

She pushed open the door and stared at the twins who suddenly resembled soldiers in a way that they never had before.

Isacar was leaning against the doorframe, his arms folded over his chest and his eyes as cold and dead as any trained X-series.

Icarus' demeanour was a far cry from the sweet blonde who had been irritating Nyx before. Now she seemed two steps away from hammering out the entire drill series and starting on fight formations with half the staff, her eyes on super-alert.

Nyx stepped out of the classroom and eyed them, unaware that her own spine had straightened.

"Report," she stated calmly.

"We have a problem," Isacar said without preamble and pushed away from the doorframe.

"Status?"

"Code yellow," Icarus reported. "Possible breach of security and definite contact issues…" she trailed off. "There's something you need to see."

"Get Zeph," Isacar ordered Icarus. "Meet us in tech room 12 in ten."

Icarus nodded quickly and snapped, "I'll be there in five."

Nyx and Isacar didn't wait to watch her walk away.

"Let's move out."

tbc...

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* * *

_Challenge_

_Anyone who has been on my site knows that I do little manip/pics to go with chapter headings and also that there are only a few chapters to go in this series. The final Chapter is called "Exit, Stage left" and will have all of the transgenic back together (we hope- proving they don't die on me, which is possible). I would like to issue the challenge for someone else to do the manip for that chapter. The one I love the most will not only get their pic prize of place but will also get a SNEAK PREVIEW of the last chapter and, who knows, maybe even a cameo in the finale. Interested?_

_Entries sent to me care of fayth82 at yahoo dot co dot uk and if you want the real names of those I used for the Xs then email me for that. Good luck._

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Geminangel- Cheers pet, I must admit that Anna is growing on me, I didn't actually like her too much at the start.

Angel of Darkness231- It was a two-parter- basically my way of saying I have no idea when to shut up and have to half the chapters I do write.

Bluejean452- Thank you very much and I'll see what I can do about that showdown.

Sigma1- LOL, Max as a facilitator of character- it works so well. I think Ralph maybe had her own system of making others do her work- who knows? As for the woman, I have a few ideas.

Pinkflipflop3- hey there! Glad that yopu like it, more upcoming—as soon as I get my ass in gear, obviously.

Aku-neko- Hey sweets, My brother said there was a huge delay in reading the thing form which sucks big time, but I'm sure it was worth the wait. Why are clams happy and who has taken the census? They leave out all of the suicidal clams and the abject poverty of the surrounding shellfish.—ahem. Anna and Annoy? Hmm, could be. I think Ralph and Anna have this unique relationship, but still I wouldn't want to be Anna for a while.

Meri42- Love that you have an Anna camp…is that like boot camp?

Kim- LOL, hearty? That is such a good word for Annoy!

Lotamoxie- Anna the Grinch? Oh that could work! Imagine her creeping into White's room at night and stealing his toys…oh wait- she did! LOL.

Nevanroy- mY ritting is shaky from bein held captVe by rabid fans who are Poking me with StICks. HOt poKerS Are hOt. Send chocolate.

Pixie Wildfire- Ben/Max/Alec? Nice little threesome there. You with Ben? Hmm, you'd have to submit to a voluntary medical including full dentistry exam. Also you'd have to change your name because we couldn't have a "Pix"ie with Ben… too much confusion and Chance would get jealous.

Toniboo- cheers pet. Ann and BJ aren't even in the same state!

Elle6778- I have to have one redeeming feature and we have to have Annoy as a class name. Remember sarcasm is not just for Christmas, but for life.

Mae- A devoted reader, a wonderful reader… who doesn't review (walks away muttering about ingrates)

Feenian- I wouldn't insult cats, although I am told that if you skin a cat- off topic, anyway. I'm sure I can find plenty of people for them to love.

Sarah- I know that that part was all Anna but it does shift the plot along some, trust me I know what I'm doing.

Moonlite star- I know, can you believe I had new characters at this juncture. I swear I'm crazy. I bet I'm tempted to write this woman's story as another new fricking story. Grrrrrr… that's it, I'm on plot-bunny strike.

Guest type person- I could be messing, but you never know with me. Actually I'm not sure about that either. Anna cares about Ralph, in the same way I do… ahem expect her to be killed off then (JOKE) see all questions answered

Starlight angel- cheers pet, glad you like it.

SGOU- short review for you angel? I think Anna could have passed on the fact that she had named him—he'd have found it amusing. All questions on our mystery woman answered in the next instalment… probably, you know what I'm like. Wow, you had a few questions didn't you? To answer… yes, yes some, yes, possibly and yes.

Ganko- hugs back atcha. Anna is doing really well for someone I was going to kill of several times in both this story and in Moving Ahead. Talk about 9 lives!

L80bug- I know my week is up but I have a damn good reason… but it's a religious reason so I'm sure that you don't want to hear it. Just wish me luck for Saturday. Ben/ Drew is intriguing, I'm as stuck as you!

Elfie- A little goes a long way and Anna was due a little introspection- in fact she was due a resurrection for all the times she scraped out of being killed. Anna and Annoy would make such a psychotic couple- Ben and Drew would have nothing on them.

Ladybug- ok, ok, ok I feel poked!


	15. 14 Battered Longing

_**

* * *

Challenge**_

_Anyone who has been on my site knows that I do little manip/pics to go with chapter headings and also that there are only a few chapters to go in this series. The final Chapter is called "Exit, Stage left" and will have all of the transgenic back together (we hope- proving they don't die on me, which is possible). I would like to issue the challenge for someone else to do the manip for that chapter. The one I love the most will not only get their pic prize of place but will also get a SNEAK PREVIEW of the last chapter and, who knows, maybe even a cameo in the finale. Interested?_

_Entries sent to me care of fayth82 at yahoo dot co dot uk and if you want the real names of those I used for the Xs then email me for that. Good luck._

**

* * *

Chapter 14 Battered longing**

Nyx watched intently as the dizzying bands of blue and red slowly disappeared from view, leaving static on the screen and ice in her heart.

There was an uncomfortable and almost desperate silence in the room as all four of the children therein tried to contemplate what they had seen.

The silence was broken by Nyx taking a deep shuddery breath. "I knew it was too good to last," she whispered when she had found her voice.

"What do we do?" Icarus asked quietly trying to be as mature as his thirteen years would allow him.

"Here's what we do." Zeph got up off his chair and went over to the video player, pulling out the video and walked, calmly and quickly to the window. He opened it and pulled back his arm, ready to hurl the incriminating tape as far as he could.

Isacar grabbed the tape before it could leave his fingers. "No, Zeph."

The tiny boy turned on his heel and glared at his elder brother with all the malice a six year old could possess. "Why? Tell me why we can't just throw the stupid thing away. It'll ruin everything!"

"Zeph's right," Icarus said, tears spilling unchecked down her rosy cheeks. "I don't see why we can't just pretend we never saw it. Things are great right now. Skye is happy again and… and Flex has a great job. They are practically our parents. Why can't we just go on as we have been?" She swiped at her face as a tear dripped off her nose.

Nyx was oddly relieved to see that Icarus looked ugly when she cried, it was random and irrelevant but it was something to focus on.

Isacar looked at the other occupant of the room. "Nyxie?"

Nyx shook her head slowly, trying to concentrate on the issue at hand. "Things have been great. I never knew the world could be…." She rubbed her face with shaking hands and then straightened. "We have to tell them."

"No!" Icarus cried.

"NO!" Zeph shouted. "It's not fair, it's not FAIR!" He rounded on the tall girl. "Jus'… jus' cause you are old enough not to have to do what you're told, to follow everyone. It doesn't mean you can make decisions for everyone! I don't want to go back to Manticore. I don't want to have to leave here and go back," he fisted his hands. "You can't make me! You can't!" His bottom lip trembled and Isacar knelt down pulling the tiny boy into his arms as Zeph began to cry, his shoulders shaking with pain.

Nyx watched the tender embrace and swallowed. "Isn't that what you are doing?"

Zeph peered over Isacar's shoulder.

"_You_ don't want to leave. I don't want leave. Icarus and Isacar don't want to leave. But what about Skye? What about Flex? These people—" her lip trembled as she pointed to the television, "—these people are their unit… their family. Steve died but… but Skye is always talking about her other friends. Flex misses that Pix guy and Alice."

"Alec," Icarus corrected quietly. Nyx spared her a glance before turning back to Zeph, her eyes stinging as she held back tears with a ferocity that shocked her. She wasn't a baby; she wasn't going to cry over this. Nyx was, and always would be, a soldier and she was going to act like one, damn it.

Damn it.

"Don't they deserve the right to choose?"

Zeph pulled away from Isacar, his mouth in a pout. "What if they chose to go back and leave us all alone again?"

Nyx had no answer for that.

But Isacar did.

"I won't leave you, Zeph," he promised stalwartly and Zeph swung back around fixing his older brother with damp eyes.

"They put me in the tank," he sobbed plaintively and even hard-hearted Nyx was moved by the small body wracked with tears.

Icarus turned her back on the scene and grabbed her desk hard with both hands fighting back her own response to the small boy's pain.

"They deserve that choice," Nyx maintained calmly. "They have taken us in but…but…"

"Enough, Nyx," Isacar said, his usually jovial tone conspicuously absent. "Zeph understands. We tell Skye and Flex and let them decide what we do. If they want to go back we can always stay here. It won't be the same, but we'll make do."

"Soldiers always make do," Icarus spat bitterly. "Soldiers always follow orders; soldiers do what they're told. Soldiers have no feelings, no hope and _no choice_."

"Deal with it," Isacar said coolly, still trying to calm the hysterical boy in his arms. "For now we go home."

"It's not third period yet," Nyx replied absently." We'll be in trouble for truancy."

Isacar's cool gaze met hers. "Somehow I don't think it will matter."

>>>>>

"So let me get this straight," Biggs sat up straight in the passenger seat, discarding his sandwich. "You mean to tell me that we ditched that sweet ass set-up in the biggest casino ever, with luxury apartments, hot and cold running water and more food than even I can possibly eat… to go to some abandoned nuclear dump site?"

Sunny revved the car faster down the long stretch of desert and cranked up the air-conditioning. "Yes."

"Babe, it's like a couple'a hundred odd miles to Seattle and we have no idea that this Freak's information is even kosher."

Sunny sighed heavily, pushing her fringe out of her sweat-dampened face and fixed Biggs with a glare. "What if he's right and all Spec Ops are there? I am willing to drive 'a couple'a hundred odd miles' just to check. Our job will still be there when we get back."

Biggs picked up his sandwich and turned it over in his hands. "I know you gotta think of me as the most selfish jerk on the planet, but I don't see why genius-level soldiers would burrow down in one place."

"It's called family." she said icily.

"And don't forget that mine is there too," he replied with an edge to his voice that she hadn't heard in some time.

Sunny's eyes narrowed and she glanced over, taking her eyes off the otherwise abandoned road. "I haven't forgotten, Biggs."

Biggs stared out of the window at the passing scenery.

Whilst it was true that he had a certain playful personality that did not allow him to take things very seriously, or to linger on unpleasantness for very long, it was also true that he had a deep seated and quite fearless loyalty for those who he allowed into his family circle.

Chance was his sister, no matter what those stupid suits said of random DNA and genetic coding. He had been told that they had the same surrogate mother and that was proof enough for him.

His amiable personality allowed him to put on a front that he simply didn't care about anything except for food and recreation, when the simple truth of the matter was that he was scared.

Scared of never seeing Chance or Alec again, scared of discovering that they were dead and he had been powerless to stop it.

He would never forget the way that the beams had shifted in those last vital few moments at Manticore; the creak of the ceiling as it finally gave way still haunted him.

He still saw Mets's hand protruding from the fallen debris, covered in blood and dust, pale, lifeless and limp.

His friend had sacrificed himself for them and Biggs had been powerless to stop him or do anything about it. He hadn't even been that close to Mets; in truth he had always found the man's posturing to be ridiculous and amusing, his put-on accent was funny and his airs and graces laughable.

He wasn't laughing now.

Biggs let his gaze fix on a tumbling weed as it was pushed along by the breeze, casting up sand wherever it went.

"Seattle is a dead hole," he said abstractly. "Nothing good comes out of there."

Sunny guessed where some of his thoughts came from and offered a wry smile. "You did."

Biggs gave a dry laugh. "Yeah, there's a ringing endorsement."

"It is for me," Sunny maintained and reached over to hold his hand. She thought of someway of changing the subject to something more uplifting but couldn't control her curiosity. "I wonder who'll be in charge of Terminal City."

"Terminal City," Biggs shuddered. "Now there's a name that fills you with confidence. It sounds like a disease 'ooh, look I have Terminal City'."

Sunny giggled and entwined her fingers with his, grimacing at the sticky residue of his sandwich melting in the heat.

"Seriously, do you think it'll be Max and Alec?"

Biggs shrugged. "Or maybe Coco, she's pretty level-headed. Or Steve."

"As long as it's not Cece," Sunny gave a little frown.

Biggs grinned. "Hey, imagine Drew's in charge!"

Sunny's eyes widened. "Wow, the world would not know what hit it!" she inclined her head. "Although it could be worse."

"How?"

"Pix could be in charge."

There was no answer to that.

>>>>>

Although they had been taught from infancy how to have sufficient self-control to ignore any and all outside stimulus in pursuit of a single goal; there were some occasions and circumstances that this was near to impossible.

Flex was discovering this anew, as he found his attention from his newspaper wavering with every slide of Skye's foot up her smooth calf.

She was lying on the sofa opposite him on her stomach, deeply involved in some book. Her legs were waving slowly in the air and her shoulders swayed to some internal rhythm as she scanned the pages, her mouth smiling.

Flex found it utterly enchanting and his gaze and attention kept being drawn away from the spreadsheets that he was trying to decipher. He may have been on the outside for some time now but it didn't mean that he was fully cognisant of all that it entailed, for example, just this morning he had been exceedingly puzzled by the mention of one of his co-workers of something called the 'old ball and chain'. He wondered whether it was valuable and had quite innocently asked if it were an antique, much to the amusement of his friend who had explained that his wife, whilst no spring chicken, was not past her sell-by date yet.

Flex remained confused.

Skye was unaware of his attention; she was enthralled in her book which was an unusual occurrence for one who had always found music and computers to be far more entertaining than literature, but Isacar had recommended a book to her and she found herself accepting his recommendation and picking it up.

Now she couldn't put it down. She had even let Galen go off to play by himself whilst she indulged herself and she could hear him behind the sofa playing with a train set that Flex had brought home for him.

"Good book?" Flex asked suddenly and she smiled as she turned the page.

"Uh hmm."

Flex let his gaze linger on the sweet curve of her lips and trailed it down the elegant slant of her smooth shoulder, perfectly framed by her halter top. He swallowed hard and tried to drag his attention back to his paper. Less than fifteen seconds later he was watching her again.

"Interesting characters?"

"Uh hmmm." She nodded.

Flex shifted in his seat and sighed. "Comedy?"

She shook her head.

"Tragedy?"

Another shake.

"Romance?" He heard the deep rumble of his voice in that word and winced.

She gave a small nod, obviously lost in the tale and he found himself in that odd state of bemused annoyance that she was so oblivious of the state of his emotions. He placed the paper down and edged off his seat, sliding across the floor on his hands and knees.

"Oh, Skye?" he whispered.

"Shh," she dismissed him, smiling sweetly at her book.

Flex frowned as he slid up to the sofa. "What cha reading?"

"Shh…" her voice trailed off as her attention was caught by something she read.

Flex wrinkled his nose at being so summarily dismissed and considered how to extract his revenge. He leaned forward and nudged her leg with his nose.

No reaction.

He rubbed his nose up and down her bare calf.

Nothing.

Kneeling, he trailed kisses over the sole of her foot and nipped at her toes.

Skye yelped and glanced over her shoulder at his satisfied look. "Hey!"

Flex pouted and she felt her heart melt.

"What do you want?"

He raised his eyebrows and she tried not to flush. "Besides that."

"Some attention?" he fluttered his eyes and mock-whined. "Honey, you never take me out anymore, don't cha love me?"

"Like a toothache," she sassed and grinned as his face fell. "I swear sometimes you are worse than the kids."

He merely grinned boyishly and the lock of hair that fell into his eyes was pushed back by her quick fingers. The feel of her soft hands in his hair caused him to sigh louder with pleasure and the quick squeeze of elation that she loved him enough to touch him with such tender care.

"So what or who had you so enthralled?"

"Mr. Darcy," she grinned.

"Who?" He tried to keep the accusation from his voice.

"It's this book that Isacar told me to read, something classical that he read once and thought I'd like. It's kinda cool actually, if you ignore all the flowery words."

Flex wrinkled his nose. "Shakespeare?"

Skye shook her head. "Some chick called Jane Austen." She sat up, eager to share what she was reading. "See, there's this family with five daughters and no fortune so the mother is really eager to marry them off. The dad is kinda funny but he would rather stay in his library and read."

"With five daughters?" Flex shuddered. "I'd stay locked up too."

Skye frowned. "So, pretty soon two rich men come to stay in the neighbourhood and one makes for the older daughter, a pretty kind of… actually she reminds me of Sunny—always sees the best in everyone. Then there's the second eldest, who is the main character, and she hates the second rich guy who actually likes her but he's too proud to say anything to her."

Flex frowned. "That sounds dumb. If he likes her why not just say so?"

"Because he is mega rich and her family isn't the best connection for him. Of course, she wouldn't marry him even if he asked because she doesn't like him. Her father won't make her because he is kinda cool, even though the mother would be totally for it. She already tried to get him to make the girl marry some vicar-dude."

Flex shook his head. "Sounds complicated. Why any father would make his daughter marry someone she doesn't want to. I mean if Icarus…" he trailed off, his eyes wide. "Not that she's my daughter or anything."

"Oh no?" Skye's eyes lit up with amusement. "Papa Flex!"

"I just meant generally." He tried to back-pedal and Skye slipped her bookmark into her page and started to tease him.

"Sure you did. What would they say if they could see you now? Big bad Flex, the one who put the 'man' in Manticore, just another concerned daddy to his little babies."

"I have no compunction about hitting girls," he growled and she burst into laughter.

"Flex is a daddy, Flex is a daddy," she mocked and squealed as he leaped on her.

"Take it back!" he demanded, his fingers tripping over her body causing her to wriggle.

"Never!" she laughed as he found her ticklish places.

"Take it back!" Flex leaned over and used his lips and teeth on her neck and collarbone where she most sensitive and the tone of their teasing changed with heavy breaths and deep, slow kisses.

His hand slipped around her back to pull her to his body and Skye slipped her hands behind his neck to haul him in close.

"Hmm," she murmured. "Mr. Darcy!"

Flex bit off her laugh with a nip at her bottom lip. "You, madam, are a minx! Now, say my name."

"Yes, sir!" Skye giggled as he pinched her.

"My name, Skye," he growled.

"Flex."

"That's better."

"That wasn't me," Skye said as she pushed him away. She glanced over his shoulder to see the four Greeks staring at them. "Hey guys, you're home early."

Flex tumbled off her and onto the floor, ready to make some smart-ass comment when Zeph broke rank and raced over to the sofa, throwing his arm around Skye and holding on for dear life.

The rest of them stood silently and a sliver of ice raced down Flex's spine.

Skye gave Flex an alarmed look and then sat up straight. "Spill," she demanded and winced as Nyx, Isacar and Icarus stood to attention.

"There's been a development, ma'am," Isacar said and waved the black tape. "We thought you might need to know."

Skye glanced down at the video tape in his hand and her heart sank. "I guess we're watching a video."

It didn't take long for the Greeks to show the tape to Skye and Flex and even less for Isacar to translate the Morse code hidden beneath the message.

As the bands of red and blue faded it seemed that the whole room stood still waiting for some kind of explosion.

Skye shifted Galen on her knee and he looked up at her with wide eyes. Zeph was at her feet, almost huddled against the sofa and Flex sat on the other side watching the three teens that had elected to sit across the room, perhaps in order to gauge the reaction of their pseudo- parents.

"So," Flex said slowly. "The code says that initial congress is at Tuesday 0800 location at billboard 5. Any idea what that means?"

"What did we do, every Tuesday at 0800?" Skye pointed out.

"Tech room 610 for health check and mission briefing at billboard 5," Icarus said archly. "They want us to go back to Manticore."

"Initial congress," Flex nodded. "That means we meet there to be told where to head. First line of defence. Sensible."

"Or…how about we don't?" Zeph said brightly. "We could ignore it and not bother."

Skye and Flex both looked at him oddly. "What?"

Zeph swallowed. "It could be a trap. Everyone and his dog heard that broadcast when Manticore went down, everyone knows the code. It could be the head brass trying to find another way to kill us. They shot at us, remember!"

"I've not forgotten," Skye said as coldly as she had ever spoken to Zeph and he was chagrined as he recalled that her brother had been shot down by that self-same fire.

"Sorry," he whispered. "But I think it's risky."

"Why didn't they call us back before? Or why would they have hidden the message inside the hack and in Morse code?"

All four Greeks shrugged.

"They are making us go back to Manticore for this initial congress," Icarus pointed out. "How can it be good?"

"It's the only place we all know and that is likely not be overheard by enemies," Skye said and pulled Galen closer.

"Manticore is the enemy," Icarus maintained. "I may not have believed it whilst we were there but they tried to kill us; lockdown, friendly fire, then the broadcast by 452 telling us that we were being barbequed. You remember that?"

"Every word," Isacar said softly and he took a deep breath and recited, "_Do not panic, this is X5-452 speaking. Code-word 946. Listen to me, you are being betrayed by your command; Manticore isn't under attack, except by your superiors. Head out and go to ground, repeat, head out and go to ground. This is **not** a drill. Do not accept any other correspondence than that, which is coded, do not trust any other. Wait for my signal to reconvene. Repeat. You are being betrayed by command; redeploy, take your unit and go to ground. This is 452 and 494 out, Good luck."_

"Wait for my signal to reconvene," Skye repeated calmly. "This is the signal."

"What if we don't want to reconvene?" Icarus spat. "I like it here."

"Me too," Zeph sat by Skye's feet again and looked up at her. "I don't want to go."

Skye glanced over at Flex wondering why he was being so quiet, but his gaze was intent on Nyx who looked as blank as she had ever seen her.

"Flex?" she prompted. "Little help here?"

"Isacar, what do you think?" Flex transferred the question.

"As little as I respect my scholarly acquaintances here," he said dryly, "I still prefer their adolescent presence than that of the Trainers or my erstwhile Unit, most of whom walked away without a backwards glance when I was incapacitated. Given the option I would remain here."

"Nyx?" Flex said softly.

"I am at your disposal, sir," she bowed and promptly turned on her heel and left the room.

Flex gave Skye a troubled glance and quickly followed the girl out across the grounds. She was making good progress across the garden when he caught up with her.

"Nyxie?" he offered.

She turned to face him, her face blank and eyes dead. His heart lurched as he remembered the sparkle that had started to appear in her expression over the past few weeks.

"What do you want to do?"

She spread her hands. "I will follow orders, sir. Command and I will follow."

"That's not what I asked."

"Our time on the outside will be useful as an exercise."

"Nyx."

"Once we are assimilated back into the core of Manticore operations our experiences will no doubt be documented—"

"Stop."

"—and of use on future missions."

"Stop it!"

Her fists opened and closed tightly. "I'm a soldier, I have no choice and I do as I am told. That's my job."

"That's bullshit and you know it," Flex stated adamantly. "We are more than that and you have the right to have an opinion of something that is going to change our lives."

"Does it matter what I want?" she said quickly, almost falling over the words. "Manticore wins, they always win. We can't escape, we can't get away. We are made to follow orders and that is what we should do."

"No, Nyxie."

"People get hurt," she burst out. "When orders are not followed, people get hurt. They die and are taken away and there is nothing you can do to bring them back. There are… there are rules. Follow the rules and no one gets hurt. If you miss the line then…then it's all your fault."

He could feel his heart slowly breaking as the slight girl, her frame deceptively fragile, held in so much pain that her shoulders shook with the effort. And yet, not even a tear escaped from her eyes and there was no expression on her face to show the excruciating pain that was in her voice.

"God, is that what they told you?" He stepped forwards and she took a step back.

"Don't," she said. "Just give me an order."

Flex let his hands fall to his side and he stuffed them into his pockets. Minutes passed as he looked at his shoes. "Come back inside," he said finally. "That's an order."

Nyx stiffened as they marched back into the living room, everyone watching each other carefully.

"Sit," he said and Nyx sat almost erect on the sofa, her back too straight and her posture almost painful.

Flex stared at them all. Galen, although young and still shell-shocked seemed to understand that something serious was going on here and his sad eyes clung to Skye. Skye was carefully avoiding the tear-stained face of Icarus, never having been very good at the whole tears thing. Isacar sat quietly, leaning against the doorframe, his whole bearing one of someone barely holding things together whilst Zeph seemed ready to run at the slightest provocation and Nyx… Nyx looked already broken.

"I have a unit that I was brought up in—Unit 3, no big deal, couldn't stand most of them. Then I was transferred at ten to Unit 8. Liked it well enough and then I was promoted to Spec Ops. All those units… those families were chosen for me. I made them into my own later, but I had no choice in the matter at the time," Flex paused to search for the words. "Although I wouldn't change my unit for anything it could have been a different story. Say I hated Alec or couldn't deal with Cece, it could have been a nightmare and I can see where you are all coming from. You were all abandoned by your units when you needed them the most. I don't hate my unit and I miss my brothers and sisters. But they are no longer priority."

Everyone stiffened further.

"I may not have got to choose Unit3, Unit 8 or Spec ops… but I chose you guys. I could have gone, left and not come back. But I chose to stick around. You are the unit… the family that _I_ chose; and you are family." He swallowed and looked at them with a small smile. "Your…_our_ happiness comes first, our safety is paramount. But I want to know who is alive and I need to let them know that we are. As head of this band of merry miscreants I propose that we go, but we go carefully. Six take point while one goes in. If all is okay then we can proceed to the secondary point of contact. If we like it we can stay…or we could come back. But whatever we do, we do as a family. Together."

He stared at them to ascertain their response and watched as alone tear slid down Skye's cheek to land on Galen's head.

Zeph launched himself at Flex and unashamedly sobbed into his shoulder in delight and Isacar's shuddery breath told him more of his relief than any words of five syllables could. Icarus danced on the spot and swiped away her tears with a happy grin.

Flex released Zeph to Skye and, after planting a kiss on Skye's cheek, knelt down in front of Nyx.

"Nyxie?"

She wouldn't look at him, ashamed over her outburst.

He planted a finger under her chin and lifted her gaze to his. "Every family needs its black sheep. You wanna stick around with us? I'm sure we'll be unruly and un-soldierly. Probably untidy and loud as well."

She nodded so quickly that he wondered her neck didn't snap. He leaned up and placed a small kiss on her forehead.

"We'll leave first thing in the morning. Everyone go pack a bag. One bag each."

The children raced away, Isacar taking charge of Galen as they headed for the stairs.

Skye stood up and looped her arms around Flex's neck, standing on tip-toe to kiss him deeply and lovingly. His lips crushed hers with a dizzying intensity that left her grabbing at his arms.

"Skye," he moaned hoarsely, his voice as thick as the air. "I meant it. Family."

She nodded, glad that he had taken the decision that she had been unwilling to make. She, too, had grown more than fond of their little band and didn't want to separate.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too," he said back, equally as quietly and ran his hand over her hair. He pulled away ruefully and smiled. "So much for Flex the playboy. Daddy Flex just isn't as sexy. I guess you'll have to do with Mr. Darcy after all."

Skye just shook her head as he walked away. As he had stood there, defending his family he had never been more attractive and she had never been more in love.

Or more proud.

Mr. Darcy had nothing on her man.

But she was dammed if she was going to start crying again.

>>>>

The streets were always full to bursting, full of life and energy; of people going about their daily business without a thought to anyone else.

Drew secretly loved the feeling of getting lost in the bustle of town and, as she strolled down the street with Ben, she smiled contentedly, like a cat, at her musings.

"What's with the grin?" Ben asked.

"Just appreciating the city," she said mischievously.

Ben glanced around him at the dirt and grime, the noise and smell of people all around, pushing and yelling at everything and everyone.

"It's great," he said in disgust. "The hoards of unwashed masses. People talking, talking, talking but never actually saying anything."

Drew gave him a worried glance from the corner of her eye. Her and Ben had come to an understanding of sorts in that they agreed not to kill each other. That wasn't to say that he didn't still unnerve her completely at times and there were times that she feared his new-found sanity was not as tightly secured as she hoped.

His brief forays into erratic behaviour sent her pulse racing, a side-effect of being hunted and chased across rooftops by a maniac with a knife.

What she's never tell him, or even admit to herself, was that half of that pulse-racing was not from fear, but excitement.

She had always known that she was different from her fellow soldiers. She enjoyed the violence, enjoyed the chase and enjoyed the feeling of knowing that you are superior to your quarry.

Drew had fond memories of escape and evade and often wished for the simplicity of the hunt.

She appreciated the value of a good challenge and found that, in that respects Ben could match her.

In fact, Ben was her match in more ways than one.

He could be funny and tender, as well as sarcastic and witty. They liked the same movies, they liked the same books. They shared a sense of humour and their physical relationship was… Well, _wow_ described it pretty well.

He had issues with morality that she found odd and off-putting in that he didn't seem to care much whether he harmed people or poultry, men or mice, everything was game to him. But he appreciated that she was different and held off on some of his baser tendencies when she was around.

And if at times he scared her, she knew she scared him too.

They would have been perfect for each other but for one thing.

He wasn't Dek.

And because he wasn't her best friend, because he hadn't been there for all of her life, because he didn't have her heart, she wouldn't let him in.

Ben could feel her holding back and told himself that he didn't care. He told himself that Drew and that… Dek creature would probably see each other again after these months and think nothing more than friendly thoughts.

Yeah, and Lydecker would win "most shining personality" contest.

Ben reached down and grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together and smiling at her startled look. He was so busy looking at her that he bumped into a tall imperious looking man and had to stammer apologies quickly.

Drew shook her head.

"Want an ice-cream?" he offered and her face lit up in that innocent way that he lov—that he admired so much.

"Flavour?" she questioned imperiously and he pretended to sweat over the question.

"Hmm, toffee and pecan?"

"Nope."

"Huh. Uh, tiramisu and baileys?"

"Ugh!"

Ben grinned. "Coffee?"

Drew grinned back. "Double scoop. You got cash?"

Ben held out the wallet that he had just lifted from the bustling man. "Trust me."

"Okay, you get ice-cream, I wanna check out the store," Drew pointed over her shoulder to the gadget store over the road. Ben smirked.

"I could do with a new TV."

"Only because you put your foot through the last one." Drew rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress a shudder at the recollection of a furious Ben kicking hell out of the TV like a man possessed.

"That guy was blasphemous!"

"It was a religious debate," she reminded him, her hand on his arm to calm him down. "And he didn't call Mary a whore, he just pointed out that she had other children after Jesus, therefore she couldn't have been a virgin always."

"The Blue Lady deserves more respect," he said, his eyes still aglow.

"Yeah? Well this lady needs more ice-cream. You go fetch." Drew commanded and sighed with relief when he went to do her bidding.

Okay, maybe he scared her more often than she scared him.

She let him wander over to the ice-cream stand as she stood outside the gadget store, looking in the window with glee at all the new technology that had managed to wrangle its way into the US. The pulse may have fried all the circuits of pretty much everything nationwide, but other countries were more than happy to send their advances over… for a hefty price.

Drew goggled at the mini-music players and the plasma screen TV's playing perfect quality movies from the twentieth century. She watched as some guy dressed in clinging wet trousers and soaked shirt stomped his way across a field only to stop dead at the sight of a woman in a bonnet.

She moved closer to hear what he had to say but the sudden burst of static had her cursing the TV in a blue streak. The stately home was replaced by twin bands of blue and red with a pair of beady, rather untrustworthy eyes, staring out at her.

Drew wandered into the store, watching as every single screen flickered to this unappetizing sight.

Seconds later her jaw was hanging about her chest as the mangled beeps and buzzes from the hidden message began to penetrate her senses.

Drew froze in place as her quick brain deciphered the message and her heart pounded loudly.

Max was issuing a recall. Max was alive.

Max was _alive_!

Drew's face split into a grin and she fought the urge to do an uncharacteristic mini-dance on the spot.

She swept her dark hair back over her shoulder and spun on her heel to find Ben.

She scurried across the busy street and spotted him near the head of the queue.

She raced across and drew him out of the line.

"Hey, I was almost there!" he said in surprise.

"Forget Ice-cream, way more important."

He raised an amused eyebrow. "More important than food? Let's hear it then."

"There was a message hidden in an Eyes Only message. We have been given the recall by Max."

A myriad of expressions crossed Ben's face too fast for her to decipher before he settled to a blank expression.

"Oh."

Drew's jaw dropped. "Oh? Oh? What the hell kind of response is that?" She waved her hands. "Max is alive."

He nodded; his face still carefully blank. "Got that."

"Then why aren't you happy?"

"I'm happy," he said flatly. "I'm ecstatic. This is wonderful news, can we go already?"

He made to move away, only to be stopped by Drew's hand on his arm.

"Hey!" Her face took on a menacing edge. "What's your problem?"

"Gee, Drew, let me think!" He wrenched his arm out of her grip and glared back at her.

"You'll need to pull your head out of your ass first!" she spat. "This is great news, Ben."

Ben nodded fervently, not even trying to mask the patronising edge. "Sure it is." He started to walk away.

Drew planted her fists on her hips unconsciously mimicking Max's kick-ass posture. "You're not too big for me to kick your ass to the curb, pal. Why don't you let out what's bothering you, before I beat it out of you?"

Ben froze in his tracks and slowly turned to her. "No, it's great, I'm so happy for you. It's _great _that Max is alive and well; it's _fantastic_ that she wants you to go to her. It's _amazing_ that you'll be leaving and I've never been happier to see you walk back to your dumb-ass of a boyfriend. In fact I might just throw a fucking party!" his voice rose to a yell that had many people stopping to stare, only to be hurried on by the glint in his eye.

Drew went from steely-eyed determination to dumbfounded understanding.

"Ben," she started uneasily.

"No," he cut her off. "You go back to your cosy little family, you're sweet little escapee freaks. You can tell Zack that he has my blessing to screw himself. I'll be fine. Me and the Blue Lady will have a pity party."

Drew's heart sank and went icy. "Zack?"

"My 'guardian'," he mocked, "he called, said he knew some of your buddies. No doubt Mr. Hyper-efficient is already there panting after Max and sharing the stick up his ass with your precious Spec Ops."

"You knew where some of my Unit were?" She wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or hurt by this admission.

He gave her a look of patent disbelief. "I told you we were instrumental in the destruction of Manticore. Did you think we just lit off bombs and scurried back into the woodwork? Of course we have been keeping tabs on each other and what is being said in the media. Right now Mr. High and Mighty is probably off to see Eyes Only to find where Max is and then there'll be one big ass reunion."

"So why don't you come to?"

Ben scoffed, raking a hand through his hair. "You think they actually want me there? Psycho-Ben? It may have been amusing when I was a kid but now, they'd execute me '_for my own good'_."

"You don't know that," Drew maintained. "Max would be thrilled to see you again."

"And Dek?"

Her silence was all the answer her needed. He grinned cruelly and turned his back, walking away down the street.

Drew took a shuddery breath as she thought about Dek again. Imagine seeing him, being there and being able to hold him… Telling him about Ben.

It'd go down as well as one of Pix's laxative curries.

She folded her arms across her stomach and walked slowly after Ben, thinking deeply.

When she arrived back at the apartment, Ben was standing in the kitchen with his back to her, staring out of the window, his hands gripping the sink tightly.

Drew moved forward slowly and leaned against his back, resting her cheek against his back and feeling the tightness in his spine. Her hands touched his washboard stomach gently and she breathed in sync with him.

"Sorry."

"Yeah," came out as a strangled laugh.

"Killing isn't the answer," she said softly. "No matter how we were bought up, Ben; we can't hunt people down like that."

"It's not right, be more than what they made us," he quoted and it sounded enough like one of Max's phrases for Drew to smile sadly.

"Yeah."

"I won't fit in there, Drew. Neither will you." His hand reached down to cover hers. "We fit."

"Too well," she whispered. "We'd kill each other."

"But what a way to go," he paused. "I could fall in love with you, Drew."

She closed her eyes. "Don't."

Her insistence that they could never stay together was endearing.

And convincing.

Ben smiled sadly. "Okay."

He turned to face her, lifting her face up to his. "Zack told me, the last time we met, that I was a liability. He knew of the killings before; covered for me on more than one occasion and got me away from Lydecker once. He thinks it gives him the right to dictate how I live. He disapproves of me and refuses to allow me within a state of any of the others."

"A state?" Her eyes fixed on his.

Ben chuckled. "He thinks I'll corrupt one of the others, the way I managed to screw up everything else."

Drew held her arms wide open and stepped back. "Hey, look, extended exposure to Ben and yet uncorrupted."

"Yeah, well, you were weird to start off with," he said dryly.

"Jerk." She poked him playfully. He captured her hand and kissed her fingers.

"I don't want you to go."

"Come with me," she offered.

Ben shook his head. "They don't want me there."

"_I_ want you there," she asserted and shook her hair. "And I always get my own way, just ask anyone."

Ben found himself grinning. "You're a dangerous one, Drew."

"You just remember that and we'll get along fine," she nodded. "Now get your ass packed, we leave first thing in the morning."

"Yes, Ma'am." Be sighed. "I don't want to do this."

"Tough. We all do things in life that we don't want to. Think of it as character building."

Ben rolled his shoulders. "Zack will be annoyed if I disobey his reg's, so at least I can piss him off by going. Hell, it might even be fun."

Drew grinned. "That's the spirit."

He turned to go but paused at the door not turning around. "If things don't work out with you and Doofus, I'll be there."

"Nice to have a plan B," she said lightly and let him go.

>>>>>

The building resembled nothing more than a burnt out shell, a husk of what had formerly been the residence of nightmares.

Seven shadows stood on the hill and tried not to hear the echoes of screams, the rattle of gunfire and the ever-present march of thousands of feet.

Galen turned and buried his head in Skye's shoulder, a whimper escaping from his throat.

"Shh, Shh, it's okay," she soothed. "We're not here to stay."

Nyx reached absently for Flex and her hands were icy as they touched his shoulder. He jumped at the freezing contact and immediately grabbed her hand, rubbing it between his to try to coax some warmth into it.

"Should we scout?" she said looking down at the place that they had all called home once upon a time.

She could see the places where they had done drills, she could hear the crunch of gravel and the heavy press of feet stomping. The crisp morning air was still imprinted onto her psyche.

Nyx shivered.

"Or we could go home?" Zeph said with mock-cheerfulness.

Isacar shook his head at the younger boy's youthful optimism as he tried to shake off the memories that threatened to engulf him. He had stepped over bodies in that courtyard. That floor up there was where half a building had fallen on him and his unit had left him there to die.

Only Icarus had stayed behind to try to help, her slim weight no match for the rest of the concrete, but still she had tried. She had wept solidly whilst trying to save him as their world fell down around their ears.

Isacar reached out for her and pulled her into a one armed hug feeling her slight body tremble.

"It'll be okay," he whispered into her hair. "We got out."

"It's wrecked," she hissed back, sobs making her voice thick. "Why does that hurt?"

He had no answer for her.

Skye waited for Flex to answer but after a long moment she prompted him. "Flex, you want us to spread out, do recon?"

"No," Flex bit his lip, thinking hard. "If this is an ambush I want them to get as few as possible. I have more chance of slipping in and ascertaining if it's a trap or not."

"Why you?" Skye demanded.

"Because I am Spec Ops, dearest," he reminded her with a small kiss to her turned up nose. "Whilst you are merely Unit 8."

"Had to go bring that up," she mumbled and pulled Galen nearer.

"I want you kids to stay up here, got that?" Flex turned and knelt on the floor, looking into Zeph's eyes knowing that the kid would more than likely follow him anyway. "Stay here?"

"Else what?" Zeph replied mutinously.

"I'll… ground you." Flex tried to ignore Skye's giggles. "Look have some respect, okay? A small bit will do," he whined and they all nodded the humour of the situation taking away the edge, just as he had planned.

Content that at least they wouldn't all be in tears when he came back, Flex stood.

"I'll scout ahead, Skye, give me ten minutes and then come in. Kids, head back into the trees and wait for us. If we aren't out in two hours…" he hesitated.

"Run like hell?" offered Nyx.

Flex looked at Skye and they both nodded.

"That works."

>>>>>

Aiden drummed his fingers on the desk in the tech room and tried to keep memories of his time here at bay.

He couldn't believe that he had drawn the short straw and got posted as sentinel duty; it wasn't like he didn't have better things to do.

Okay, he didn't, but that wasn't the point.

He hadn't been tortured here like Max or Alec. He hadn't even spent much time in Solitary like Pix.

No, he was simply the aide; someone people vaguely recalled.

In fact, the only time he had ever been punished was when he got involved in a fight between BJ and Zan. It was back when Max and Alec were on the outs and he had been trying to stop it. But even his fortitude was tested when they tried to kill each other and he ended up with a broken nose. He'd lashed out at whoever was closest and ended making a three way fight instead of being the voice of reason.

It had been cathartic, though.

Now, he was stuck here listening to the echoes of memories past and trying not to think too hard about his life.

It seemed that everyone had someone or something to differentiate themselves. Max had Alec and her unique '09er status. Dek had Drew (when he found her). Tara had Carrot and Feen had Techie. Pix was the joker and had Chance as his back-up. Even Joshua had Gem… and who did he have?

No one.

He was just the aide; the extra.

Aiden tapped a rhythm on the desk and picked up the CD player that Alec had lent him to listen to when things got too much. It wasn't the silence that got to him, but his own thoughts and they were driving him crazy.

Crazier.

But he was just one of many after all. He had seen about nineteen X-series and twelve anomalies already and sent them on their way to TC, exactly how many Freaks did Manticore make?

Why make so many and what was the purpose of a guy who could turn pink at will?

Maybe they planned on infiltrating a blancmange factory? Or were there spies hidden in Barbie's dream mansion?

Aiden wondered if he had spent too much time around Dek.

"They have you on desk duty?"

Aiden face split into a grin as he lurched to his feet, the voice registering way before he even realised it.

"Flex!"

The tall body-builder physique was just as he remembered it and their welcoming hug was manly but full of affection.

Aiden was so pleased to see him. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"Whenever you least expect it," Flex shrugged. "Like a bad case of leprosy."

Aiden eyed him strangely. "It's good to see that there was no brain damage."

"Hey, I'm like a bad penny," Flex responded cheerfully and stuck his hands into his pockets. "Actually we were wondering if the call was a hoax."

"We were stumped as to how to get the message out without infiltration or otherwise," Aiden admitted. "Luckily Max had an in with Eyes Only."

"Max?" Flex beamed and burst into delighted laughter coaxing a smile from Aiden as he recalled how random Flex had always been.

"Alive, well, and kicking Alec's ass."

"Always good to know!" Flex grinned. "Who else?"

"We got Dek, Alec, Carrot, Tara, Techie, Feen, Pix and Chance and, of course, Cece."

"Cece? Damn, I knew I should have stayed in bed!"

Aiden peered around Flex to see Skye's sardonic grin.

"Hey, it's the Queen of Mean. Get your ass over here girl and gimme a kiss."

Skye laughed and threw her arms around her old friend. "Nice to see you again, Aiden."

Flex watched good naturedly as his girl kissed and hugged their old friend. He had really missed Aiden and hadn't known how much until he saw him again. He let loose a chuckle and punched Aiden hard on the arm.

Aiden stepped back and caught his eye, knowing full well what Flex had meant by that and he slapped Flex's back in friendly accord.

"I hoped the two of you would end up together, too many of us got separated."

"Yeah," Flex jammed his hands in his pockets. "Have you seen BJ?"

Aiden shook his head sadly. "Nah, he's probably somewhere holed up with Zan."

"Or Anna?" Skye suggested.

"Nope, Anna was there but went out on her own a few weeks ago," Aiden filled in, leaning against the desk and folding his arms across his chest. "Apparently, she took umbrage to the thought that she might have to lead the rabble at TC and headed on out to fight injustice wherever she found it, a la batman."

Skye and Flex chuckled as they were meant to. "TC?"

"Terminal City, a dump heap located in the middle of Seattle which is ground zero and where we are all convening."

"Ah, so they used you as first line of resistance?"

"Pretty much," Aiden sighed melodramatically, "and here I thought I was beyond being used as cannon fodder."

"But you are so useable," Skye drawled and grinned again at Aiden's pout.

"See, that's why I didn't miss you," he sassed. "No wonder Steve left ya."

The sudden silence made him wince. "Did I just demonstrate my amazing power to open my mouth and put my foot in it?"

"Steve..." Skye struggled and was glad when Flex reached for her hand. "Steve didn't make it out, gunned down."

Aiden closed his eyes. "Shit."

They all held the silence in partial respect and partial remembrance of their fallen friend.

Aiden straightened when he heard a noise from the hallway and he tensed, shooting a warning glance at Flex. He made to go for the gun he had on his desk.

Flex just shook his head and called out loudly. "That's minus points for stealth, slick. Oh, and you're grounded."

"Ahh, Flex!"

Aiden watched a tousled head appear around the door attached to a small boy with mischievous eyes and elfin face and complete with pout.

"No 'ahh, Flex', I told you to wait outside," warned Flex.

"Yeah, like that was gonna happen!" another voice said and a tall boy walked in carrying another child in his arms. "Besides, Galen was starting to get freaked out."

"C'mere, babe," Skye held out her arms and the small child leaped into them like a magnet to the poles.

There were more footsteps and Aiden turned to Flex in surprise. "Party of yours?"

Flex grinned. "Aiden, I'd like to introduce you to my kids, this is Zephyr." The tousled-haired child eyed him.

"Zeph," he corrected.

"Isacar," Flex continued, scuffing Zeph around the back of the head before pointing to the taller lad.

"Charmed," Isacar waggled his fingers.

"Equally," Aiden said, bemused.

"This is Galen," Skye said as she cradled the boy in her arms.

"And these two are Nyx and Icarus."

Flex moved aside to show the two girls who had slipped quietly into the room; one was of the same ice-blonde hair and deep blue eyes as Isacar and the other was a stunning oriental X series with long dark hair and a serene expression.

"I'm Icarus," said the blonde with a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

"Twins?" Aiden guessed, looking from her to Isacar.

"Sibs," she beamed in approval.

Aiden nodded in amusement and looked to Flex. "Kids?"

Flex tucked his hands into his pockets. "Yeah, see we came upon Icarus and Isacar in the upper levels and… uh… procured the others somewhere in the weapons bay."

"I see," Aiden was openly amused at seeing Flex and Skye in the midst of the children. Well, mostly children.

"Tell me, how is it that I ended up with Dek and _you_ ended up with not one, but three gorgeous ladies?"

Flex leered. "Luck of the draw and my animal magnetism."

"Huh!" Aiden scratched the back of his head and looked over the brood that Flex and Skye had brought with them. "Well, colour me stunned. You are the last people, with the obvious exception of Anna, of course, who I would have thought as family orientated. Yet here you are, brats in tow."

"I'd take umbrage to that remark," Isacar drawled in an insolent way that immediately reminded Aiden of BJ, "however; in light of circumstances I suppose it's an accurate conjecture."

"I'm not a brat," Icarus pouted playfully, openly flirting with Aiden.

Skye noted that and rolled her eyes. "Yes, you are and you'll be a brat until you learn to pick up your crap before someone has to remind you."

Aiden caught the eye of the girl behind Icarus trying her hardest not to laugh at her siblings' indignant expression. They shared an amused look as Icarus pouted harder.

Aiden was distracted by a little hand tugging at his trousers. He looked down to see Zeph glaring at him.

"We'd like not to split up, please. Unconventional, we may be, but we are family. I recognize that our self-appointed parents may wish to amalgamate with their previous units; however, we have no such desires and would be most grateful if you could house us in the vicinity of each other. Please."

Aiden blinked at the long-winded speech from the child who barely came to his knee. "Terminal City is just that, kid, city within a city. It's a dump, but there are places with whole empty blocks. You, your family and the entire cast of Sunset Beach could bunk in one and still have room for Spec Ops and Unit 8. We want to get back together for safety; we aren't looking to split anyone up."

"Really?" Nyx blurted out quickly and coloured when he glanced at her quizzically. "It's just that the message wasn't specific as to the actual delegation of transgenics. We wondered if someone was reorganizing Manticore."

All five children looked at him with a combination of fear, hope and uncertainty that tore at his heart strings.

"No, no, no!" he hastened to reassure them. "Max knew that some of our people are living rough and in fear, especially the anomalies and Freaks. What she is doing is giving those with no place to go… a place to go," he smiled softly. "Everyone else is welcome to come, bunk down if they want, but there's no mandatory recruitment."

The children let out a sigh of relief almost in unison.

"So we could go back to our house and no one would hunt us down?" tested Zeph and Aiden squatted down.

"Right. But although we want to live wild and free there are elements that want us back… or dead. Me and Dek came up against one guy and his army who want us obliterated. Scattering and going to ground is all well and good, but there is safety in numbers."

"Especially when those numbers are genetically engineered killing machines," Nyx added dryly and Aiden gave a smirk.

"Too true. TC isn't much yet, but it has one thing that you'll find no where else."

"Mutated viruses?" Isacar volunteered.

Aiden bit back a laugh. "I was going to say being able to hang upside down by your toe with no one thinking it odd, but hey, yours works too."

Aiden looked up to catch Flex's amused expression. "I see why you keep them around."

"Oh, Isacar is in a class all his own."

"Only because he doesn't play well with others," the boy in question shot back with.

"Imagine being able to race and blur against actual transgenics!" Skye offered to Zeph. "You said humans were no challenge. Well, here's your chance to see how good you are."

"Anyway, Mr. Aiden said it's very open," Icarus said sweetly. "If we don't like it, we can leave… right?"

"Right. Although it's Aiden, not Mr. Aiden," he gave her a dashing smile and Icarus blushed, much to the amusement of her brother.

Flex stood up straighter and cleared his throat. "Uh, Aiden, where do we head to?"

Aiden shook himself. "Oh right, this is a pass that lets those in TC know that you've been cleared and this is a set of co-ordinates."

Skye scanned the piece of paper and nodded before tucking both the token and piece of paper into her pocket. "Guess we'd better be off to see the rest of the rejects."

"Well, tell Dek I'll be waiting for my damn relief, okay?"

"Language!" Flex admonished absently and Aiden burst out laughing.

"I'm sure Isacar here could tell you the Latin derivatives and etymology of the words, right?"

"If I wanted," Isacar grinned.

"Oh Lord, I knew it was a bad idea to have the two of you together!" Skye groaned. "Thank Manticore B.J. isn't around! The last thing I need is you encouraging him."

"Sure," Aiden winked at the amused boy.

"Let's scat before he corrupts our minors," Flex reached over and shook Aiden's hand.

"I'll see you guys back at TC."

They all moved to leave and Aiden felt a sudden pang at the way that they all moved simultaneously, looking very much the family.

"Hey?" he called and Skye turned, her arms holding to Galen.

"Yeah?"

"You never asked who was in charge."

Flex blinked, "I assumed it was Max."

"You know what assuming does?" Aiden folded his arms over his chest.

"So who's in charge then?" Nyx asked.

Aiden just grinned. "Bye now, ya'll have a safe trip."

Flex and Skye just shook their heads at Aiden's antics and only Nyx saw the wink he aimed at them as they left.

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elle6778- Jace is one of the more taciturn X's, of course she'll come out with things like that. Adds layers.  Hmm, Zan wouldn't be the only one who's holding a torch for Max—they could make a club! Max Adorers Anonymous.

Moonlite Star- The Greeks told Flex and Skye and poof- all will be well. Hah and if you believe that…

Sigma1- Poor baby, you need sleep. Have some juicy Ben/Drew to sleep on mwah ha ha in an evil laughter way

Pixie Wildfire- Chase? Small boy with a lollipop fixation. Did Tinga never tell that kid not to accept sweets from strange men?

Pinkflipflop3- You are very curious aren't you? I know it killed the cat, but not before the cat savaged the flipflop.  . Wish granted.

Angel of Darkness231- Cheers pet, glad you enjoyed.

Starr Light1- Erm… it's possible that I might write more to this universe- once I am on day release from the local loony bin.

Aku-neko- Hope you had a good birthday, I like to add realism in there with parts that would be classed as uber sci-fi. Glad you liked those. I have exactly the same reaction as Coco when presented with children. As in "Ahh small person take it away until it grows and gets a job!" Nuremberg was where Nazi war criminals were tried—they told judges that they were just 'following orders' when they gassed thousands to death.

Lotamoxie- Ooh I wanna see the snoopy dance! It's had to imagine anyone taking the reigns from a Xseries in the family, poor Jason. That's one fro Dek/Drew me too actually LOL, feel free to write about them yourself!

Yodes- hey there. So glad that I got you hooked, it a fun place to be actually so enjoy the next few thrill packed instalments complete with evvvilll cliffhangers.

Geminangel- Well they did and Flex and Skye are doing well on that. Look forward to them coming home!

Mae- All right you are forgiven. LOL. Love you too, angel, enjoy the instalment just remember that reviews make the world go around. Or cash, whichever works.

Roxyroo- Cheers pet, glad that you liked that. I am hoping that this will be the end to the series but you know me, I have this habit of hating finishing fics. Its possible that there will be more instalments later down the line, but I will be giving this a rest for a while afterwards. I'll be rewriting Coming to terms before someone kills me.

Bluejean452- Here was the Ben/Drew. It wasn't as fluffy as you would have hoped but there ya go. Angst is my fave.

Kim- I think Max is so eager to have people back at Manticore that she had missed the fact that some will not be eased by the message, especially the younger Xs. Anna has a big role to play which was why she got a lot of the other chapter to herself. This part will be much more broad I scope with all of the transgenics.

Nevanroy- The glue on my restraints came unstuck in the last downpour and I was able to sneak out the back. I am hiding in an alley writing my fic on the back of a McDonalds wrapper and existing on scraps from Starbucks, where I have uncovered a plot to rule the world. Here are coffee beans and a plan of action to verify my story.

Lyndsay- Sorry sweetheart! I must have missed your review and that was just plain wrong of me. Tell me who you want to see more of and I'll see if I can't make it up to you. I gave you Ben**_ and_** Ice-cream that has to count for something!

Mely's the name- You're welcome, inspired by your earlier comment which was nice. I hope all the flipping loose ends get tied up.

Black Rose9- Hope you liked the website, I know its fun to do, even if I don't update as often as I should!

L80bug- Jace disobeying orders? Would she? LOL. I think she could cook if she chose to, but good old Nyx has other things on her mind- or will do at least. wink

SGOU- BJ has a habit of appealing to the taciturn bitch type- First Anna and now Jace! Max is doing her level best to dissuade him from scattering and she might succeed to a certain extent but ten years is a long to have "run run run" ingrained and it'll be hard to shake that. Would you give up Jason who looks Brad Pitt-esque (without the obvious male-asshole, 'let me chuck you for someone new' genes). I really don't like Icarus and have no idea why since I am the one who writes her. I just can't seem to like the little cow, so no sympathy there. LOL.

Ganko- Cheers pet, just keep the addiction under control. Nyx is more of the Drew class of scariness. I wonder if they gave classes on that in Old M? Ahh the Zack issues will be addressed in the next part of SF, so look out for that.

Meri24- Me and Coco thank you for mocking our reaction to small people. They do spread disease you know! And they smell funny and expect you to act as transport/ vending machine. shudders

AngelKougaeri- Cheers pet, Keep reviewing and I'll keep updating.

Gepap- Well I emailed you for the concrit, which was well received and even more appreciated. There are an awful lot of character and not really enough space to do them justice, but I will persevere. There seems to be someone for everyone here and everyone seems to identify with at least one character which is great. I do have a mental block as far as Logan is concerned, I think it's a throwback to some of the meaner episodes which I take delight in pulling to pieces. But I agree as to his reaction on the transgenic cause. Tinga is one of the upcoming storylines (if you can believe I'll fit another in just now!)

Elfie- LOL, no I don't have acat myself, but Miss Kitty is one of my best received fics. I still get nominated for awards for her. I was thinking of writing a DA version with Miss Kitty- what do you think? Small person alert- ew. I enjoyed making a mess and mixing sugar with salt and letting the greedy boys "steal" my food. Mwah ha ha.

Ladybug- Yes it's way past time… and yet.


	16. 15 Cats in the cradle

**A/N- FINAL CHAPTER OF PRESSING ONWARDS!**

Wow, this has been one long ride and I want to thank everyone who has joined me on this epic voyage. There are a lot of loose ends, i know and we might MIGHT see a sequel but it won't be until way in future. I have to write Coming to Terms before i get massacred by rabid fans.

There will be a few chapters of Surging Forwards left, but this half is done. BTW- the song "Whisky girl" is by Toby Keith, who i in no way own.

Anyone who wants towrite any using my characters just needs to ask. Big thanks to my beta Itay for all his hard work!

**PLEASE READ-- I want to BEG for reviews from everyone who has ever read part of this series, I would liek to see how many people have read original characters. so even if you just leave your name and one word i would appreciate it!**

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Chapter 15 Cat's in the cradle.

The white corridor was shrinking, the walls closing in as Ames White stood in front of Anna, arrogance seething from every single pore like a wave of deliberate malice.

She was frozen by the fear in Ralph's eyes, held captive by White's strong arm, the body of the woman in the cell at her feet, the woman that Anna hadn't been able to save.

White demanded that Anna do something but Anna couldn't hear him, his voice sounding thick. Like molasses.

He yelled sounding like a cow under water and she shook her head, not missing the sudden despair in Ralph's eyes.

Anna watched him as he casually reached over and sliced Ralph's throat, and let her go; her little body dropping like a stone in slow motion. A pool of warm blonde hair was gradually turned red by the trickle of blood from her wound and Anna's hands trembled.

She hadn't been quick enough to save her.

The walls throbbed like a living heartbeat and White sneered as the whole corridor began to vibrate. Anna stumbled backwards only to be stopped by a wall that hadn't been there before. She spun around to slam her hands on the white stone in frustration before turning back to where White had been. In his place was another wall. She was surrounded, caged in a box, a white box and all around her was the echo of maniacal laughter.

She hadn't been quick enough to save herself.

She screamed but there was no sound and as she slammed her fists against the walls, she slipped.

She looked down at her hands and saw the blood—Ralph's blood—coating her fingers and palms. Ralph's blood was on her hands. She backed up, her eyes fixed to her hands as the blood began to run down the walls.

White laughed. "Couldn't save her, couldn't save yourself, could you, 291?"

"I'm Anna," she corrected desperately.

"A number is all you'll ever be, 291. You think your little friends want you around? They were glad you left that place. You can't even be kind to that small bitch that follows you like a loyal lap-dog, even when you would sacrifice her." White grinned hideously as the blood began to pool at her feet.

"No."

"I'll kill her for you."

"She's dead," Anna said numbly as Ralph's eyes went grey and filmy.

"I'll do it again," White replied triumphantly, "and then you can be alone, just as you wanted. I'll kill her for you. You'll like that, and then I can put you in a cage where no one will ever disturb you again."

The blood was rising in a tidal wave and was already at her knees and rising. "I'm not going back in a cage, never."

"Then I'll put her in one." Ralph was suddenly in White's arms again, alive and terrified.

"No. Ralph!" Anna tried to reach for her, bobbing in the waist height blood.

"Anna!" she screamed.

"No!" Anna watched helplessly as White dragged the girl away by her hair. She pounded on her cage as she heard the girl's screams growing louder and louder.

She started to place her hands over her ears but, coated as they were in blood, the very idea was abhorrent. "I'm coming, Ralph."

She was failing. The blood was around her shoulders, touching her hair.

"I'm coming." She jumped but missed the rooftop.

She was drowning in the blood of the dead.

Failing.

Drowning.

"Ralph!"

Anna woke in the dark, heart pounding, hands clenched and cold sweat dripping from her forehead.

For a moment she simply lay there, shuddering and scared while the dream faded.

She had been in Manticore for most of her life and it followed her wherever she went, but this was the first time that she had a nightmare about something that happened on the outside.

She'd learned to accept her actions and their consequences, but it was the terrified look on Ralph's face that haunted her this time. She had told White that he should go ahead and kill her; that she didn't mean anything to Anna other than an annoyance.

She wasn't sure if she was lying or not and that was what ached. Did she care about Ralph? Or anyone? Was she capable of it?

Anna bit back a whimper as she shivered, her hands icy against her upper arms as she rubbed herself, trying to warm herself up.

_Move,_ whispered a voice and she staggered to a sitting position, draping her arms over her knees and cradling her body in a loose embrace.

With a brief glance at a sleeping Ralph she rested her head on her knees and fought to catch her breath.

Of course, she knew why the nightmare had hit her with such intensity.

White had almost won.

For someone who had been bought up to believe that she was the best of the best and that no one could ever take advantages of her; it was demoralising to know that there was someone who didn't have the same genetic enhancements who could so neatly make mincemeat of her.

In that corridor she had been cocky, thinking that two transgenics could beat White any day.

The fact that they had only won by the narrowest of narrow margins; and it was only pure luck that had Annoy hitting one of the pipes covering White and his cronies with boiling steam allowing them to escape—barely—had more than stuck in her mind, filling her with the kind of fear that she hadn't felt since Manticore.

Once her trembling had subsided, Anna shifted over to look down at a sleeping Ralph. Her face was so young, innocent and free of stress while she slept and Anna felt something inside her move as she looked at the young girl.

"Sorry," she mouthed so quietly that the wind snatched the words before they could be heard.

There was a faint moan from the other side of the camp and Anna looked over to the woman who was waking up.

She edged over and sat looking at her as the woman's eyes fluttered open.

She looked panicked as she didn't recognise where she was and her hands fluttered agitatedly.

"Shh, you're safe," Anna soothed.

"Not… safe," the woman struggled to say. "Never safe. Must…run."

"Yeah, like you'd get far," Anna scoffed. "I pulled you out of White's place; you're as safe as you can be right now."

"Really?" the woman's eyes were intent of hers.

Anna shrugged. "No reason to lie."

There was a sheen of tears in the woman's eyes as she sighed, relaxed and smiled. "Thank you."

"Yeah, whatever," Anna said, uncomfortable with the praise. "How are you doing?"

"Well. Tired but… better. Thirsty."

Anna grabbed her water bottle and held it up to the woman's mouth for her to drink.

She leaned up, propped up by Anna's arm as she sipped, her eyes searching the clearing and alighting on Ralph.

"Is she your daughter?"

"No," Anna snapped.

"Sorry," she seemed to shrink back into herself and Anna cursed herself for not being able to keep her temper.

"I hate children almost as much as I hate animals," she said truthfully. "Now I want to know about you. Who are you and why did White want to stop you from leaving so badly?"

"I'm Maria," the woman said quietly, her eyes darting every which way. "I—I– don't know why White wanted me so badly."

"Uh uh, wrong answer," Anna spat, knowing full well that the woman's shifty eyes proclaimed her a liar. "Tell me."

Maria bit her lip and grimaced in discomfort as she shifted. "How do I know that this isn't just another test? Some way of helping White? I'm sick of being part of his agenda."

"Do I look like I give a crap about your issues, lady?" Anna sat back on her heels. "White isn't the be-all and end-all of life. I have an agenda too and it starts and ends with killing his ass. Now you'll tell me what I want to know or I'll hurt you. It is as simple as that."

The woman blinked. "I find that honesty oddly refreshing."

"Colour me stunned, now what were you doing there?"

The woman took a breath. "I was captured because of what I did."

"Did?" Anna looked her over. "What did you do?"

The woman looked down at the ground and then back up at Anna. "I gave birth… to a mutant."

>>>>

Jason hadn't been kidding when he said that living with a transgenic was a life-altering decision. He was used to the odd blank looks when he mentioned some cultural reference that she didn't understand; he was even somewhat used to the marathon sex which left him aching all day. But he wasn't sure he could get used to waking first thing in the morning to see a beautiful, sylph-like creature doing arm curls with the sofa; it was unnerving to the extreme to realise that she could rip off his head with one arm and not something that he liked to think about before he had had his coffee.

"Babe, do you have to do that now?"

"Yes," she said. "By the way, you need to Hoover under there." She placed the leather sofa down again and turned to smile at him.

"Do it yourself," he said as he turned over and tucked his head under his pillow, knowing full well what was coming next.

He had a moment to brace himself before he felt the indentation of Coco leaning on the bed and poking him in the ribs.

"I will work and earn cash, I might even cook, but I refuse to be some domesticated woman. Clear?"

Jason turned back over pouting. "Ah and I had such great hopes for seeing you in an apron."

Coco replied to that as only she could and hit him hard with the pillow.

"Ouch, okay, I give!" he surrendered with a laugh and held his hands up as she kissed him.

"Good," she said menacingly. "At least you know your place."

"Right here." He leered and then noted her absent smile. "You okay, babe?"

"Sure," she turned back to him and gave a small smile.

"Liar," he called her on her bluff. "C'mon, spill."

Coco sat back. "The first half of my life was spent training to kill people like you. I spent it with creations like me, but I always wanted to be so much more. With you I am so much more and yet I miss them. Half of me misses them," she corrected. "Half wants to go back and find them, find Cece and Skye, Steve and the rest and yet the other half of me knows that as soon as I go back to them… I'll become one of them again."

Jason bit his lip. "I'm not sure I understand."

Coco sighed. "I'm a soldier and with the guys I am a soldier and a transgenic. I fight for them; I would kill, and have killed for them. They are my family and my life and have first priority because that's the way we were made. With you I am more than a soldier, I'm a woman too. You are my family and my priority but that's my decision. With you I have everything I want and I…" she shifted. "I'm not saying this right."

Jason regarded her for a long moment. "I think I get it. It all comes down to choice. You were given your family, you were handed your friends and told that that was the way things were. You had no choice in that. In coming here, in finding me you have a choice. Free will, Coco, it's what separates us from the animals."

Coco smiled sadly. "I'm not too different from those animals. My D.N.A—"

"Is unimportant to me," Jason replied soberly. "I don't care if you are half woman, half chicken."

"Chicken?" Coco raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I'm flattered at that."

"You know what I mean."

Coco smiled softly. "I know."

"But I wouldn't care if you suddenly grew claws and feathers," he paused. "Of course, it would freak me out and I'd require months of therapy, but I could handle it."

Coco burst out laughing, slapping him wherever she could reach. "Idiot!"

Jason grabbed her hands. "All I'm saying is that I'm glad that you choose to be with me rather than bow to instinct and run back to your family. If you want to be with them then I'll follow you, but if you'd rather stay here and see how it plays out before going back then I'm all for that as well."

Coco felt like he had hit exactly upon what she had been worried about. "I'm just worried that if I go to them I'll get dragged into whatever melodrama is currently playing at Chez Transgenic and end up pushing you away."

"I'm harder to get rid of than that, babe." He kissed her knuckles. "So do you want to stay here with me?"

Coco thought about it. What did she really want when it all came down to it? Did she want to be suspect to the whims of her crazy relations? Did she want to have the feelings and emotions that came with Jason or was she content just to fade into the background and be another transgenic in a whole host of them?

"I'll stay," she decided slowly. "Keep an eye out on the media and maybe go back when things are more certain."

Jason smiled. "Okay."

"Okay?" she frowned. "Just like that?"

"Hey, I know who wears the pants in this family."

"Just don't forget it!" she growled and joined him in the bed, kissing him noisily.

"Coco?"

"Hmm," she said as she trailed kisses along his jaw line.

"What will your family say when they find out that you are not only dating a non-transgenic, but marrying him?"

Coco paused. "I have no idea. Max would be okay, actually she and Tara knew about you the first time I met you. We had quite the girly chat."

"Really?" smirked Jason, not seeing Coco dressed in fuzzy pyjamas having a girlie night.

"Yeah," Coco smiled at the memory and continued. "Max likes ordinaries; she had a friend back when she was a kid, some lab technician. Anyway she would be fine. Cece and Skye would probably wonder why and think me a bit weird. Steve would probably want to give you the third degree and Flex and Aiden would want to sit down and laugh at you for a while." She inclined her head as she thought. "Alec wouldn't like it and BJ would be furious. The rest wouldn't care much."

"BJ?"

"Max named him Big Jerk because he tends to open his mouth before thinking about it."

"Nice."

"Yeah," Coco drew him in and kissed him deeply before pulling away. "Oh, except Anna, she hates ordinaries and would probably beat you. I miss her."

Jason stared at her oddly. "You miss a girl who'd like to beat me up?"

"Anna happened to be one of my best friends. She was excessively unpleasant. Didn't like animals, children or people; hated ordinaries but then she wasn't too fond of transgenics either."

"Sounds charming."

Coco's lips curved upwards. "You know something? She really was."

>>>>

Anna blinked. "You did what?"

Maria bit her lip. "I gave birth to a mutant. They didn't tell me that's what it was but it was pretty clear once it was born."

"You skipped a whole bunch of steps!" Anna said shrilly waving her hands. "A mutant? You mean a transgenic, don't you?"

Maria gaped. "How did you know that?"

"Intuition," Anna said flatly. "Let's start from the word 'Go', huh?"

Maria sat back, resting her head on the bunched up jacket she had been using as a pillow. "I was a student nurse back before the Pulse. I wanted to go to medical school but there was no money. My parents hadn't been wealthy, we were farmers."

"All hail the corn-fed," Anna interjected when Maria paused again.

She took a deep breath. "Anyway, one day whilst I was training, I got this email asking for voluntary blood donations for a couple of bucks. I needed some cash so I went and donated. I was contacted a few days later by some guy who said that he'd found something in my blood make-up that he was documenting in his senior thesis. He asked if I could come meet him."

"And you did?" Anna's voice was scathing and Maria seemed to shrink in on herself.

"I'm not stupid," she maintained. "I was hard up and wondered if maybe he'd ask for more samples for cash."

"Mercenary."

"Realist," Maria argued, some colour coming to her pallid cheeks. "Anyway, I met him at the student's diner and he said that there was a special component in my blood that he had been searching for. He said that he'd pay good money if I would take part in some experiments."

Maria stopped, as if thinking back to that time and Anna could see the ghost of regret pass through her eyes.

"I asked what kind and he got evasive and kept telling me that it was for the good of mankind. He creeped me out so I said no."

"Just no?"

Maria nodded. "He thanked me for my time, handed me his card and said if I ever change my mind that I should call. Ever."

Anna watched her carefully. "When did you?"

Maria smiled ruefully. "When my meagre savings were wiped out by the pulse and the Med association came a-knocking for my loan repayments. Everything that I had worked so hard for was at risk. I needed cold hard cash and I needed it now. I called and he was welcoming," Maria laughed cynically and somewhat sadly. "I know why." Tears sprang up in her eyes and her voice grew thick.

"Once I explained my circumstances he was more than happy to help. He offered me a place to live for a year, food, clothing and… twelve thousand dollars—enough to pay off my loan and have enough to set me up until I could get back on my feet. It was too good to be true."

Anna took a deep breath realising that Maria was about to cry. "Enough of the waterworks, lady, what's done is done. I need you to tell me everything."

"I'm trying," snapped Maria. "I need you to understand why."

"Newsflash, I don't care why," Anna stated in her usual brusque manner. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions and all the whys in the world won't make us wise."

"Profound," Maria spat, wiping tears away. "Have a heart."

"Never needed one before," Anna smirked. "Spill."

"I asked what I had to do and he told me. At first I was horrified, to just have a baby for them and hand it over? I asked what possible quality in my blood would make that a good idea."

"Something in the blood," Anna muttered.

"He said I was low risk to certain infections," she sighed. "At first I said no; I couldn't just hand over a defenceless child but then he told me that it was a kind of adoptive agency. They paid women to have children for a specific purpose; that these children had destinies that would benefit us all. He promised that the children would all be together, they'd grow up as family units and be trained to be the best that they could be. He said they'd go to a home that would give them everything that they could ever need, which would be more than I could ever grant them."

Anna's blood turned cold.

_Adoptive agency._

Manticore.

_Specific purpose._

Genetically enhanced soldiers.

_Destinies._

Warfare.

_Family units trained to be the best that they could be._

Units, training.

_Everything they could ever need._

Except love. Safety, care and kindness.

"Right." Her voice thick as if her throat had closed up. "So you agreed."

"The streets and debtor's prison or twelve thousand dollars—which would you have chosen?" Maria snapped, looking viciously at Anna.

Anna shook her head. "Then what?"

Maria looked away. "I was treated well, looked after by the best doctors and given whatever I wanted. It wasn't until the baby was born that things seemed wrong."

"Go on. How did you tell?"

Maria glared. "No matter how tired you are from pushing; no matter how you ache from labour you never forget when the child you have carried comes out with a tail."

Anna blinked. "Tail?"

Maria nodded sadly. "I screamed and then they got nasty, taking the baby away before I could see it. They told me later that I hallucinated but it was a lie, I know what I saw. They forced me to give birth to a mutant… a freak!"

Anna winced.

"I spoke to the other mothers and they said that they had noticed weird things with their pregnancies; one woman swore that her belly grew five times its size in one night. Another woman vowed that she had felt six legs. One girl, barely sixteen, showed us scratches of claw-marks… from inside her belly. It was a nightmare and no one would believe me. The man told me to keep my mouth shut or they'd shut it for me. I was scared. Monsters inside me, who would beli-"

"So you ran?" Anna cut in.

Maria closed her eyes. "I'm not proud of myself. But I did what I had to, until one day I couldn't hold it in anymore; the nightmares over the years had gotten worse. At first it was just me giving birth to a baby with a tail and then, as the years went by I dreamt of them ripping themselves out of me, clawing their way free and eating me. It was driving me insane. I went to the police; the chief of police and told him about the blood and the tests and the babies. He believed me." She looked at Anna incredulously, as if even after all this time she couldn't believe that anyone would. "He called people and someone came and asked me questions. He even showed me a picture of the man who'd taken me in. They released me and told me that they'd be in touch. Two days later I was attacked on the streets, drugged and taken to that place. I've been there ever since."

Anna watched her thoughtfully.

"Don't suppose you have a cigarette?" Maria asked damply. "I could do with the hit."

"Don't smoke," Anna answered. "The papers I saw said that you captured in April of this year, you've been there five months."

"Feels like years."

"It also said you were born in '05, which would make you too young to have been a nurse during the pulse." Anna stared at her. "You're lying."

>>>>

"Stop!"

The tall dark-skinned woman froze, her whole body going into alert. "What?"

"Just stop getting more gorgeous every time I look at you." Hands wove around her waist and pulled her up against a very warm male body that dropped to plant a kiss on her neck.

"Charlie!" she giggled and wriggled away from him, holding her flour, covered hands in front of her. "Quit that, I have to get this batch in the oven before opening."

"But you taste too delicious," her husband smiled. "All I want is a taste, Penny."

She felt a sudden pang in her chest. It came from hearing her name on his lips like that. Penny may have been the name that the orphanage gave her, but she had been born as Tinga and Tinga she would always be.

Of course, Charlie had asked her why she had named her bakery 'Tinga' and she had told him that she remembered her childhood nick-name of Ting and he thought it cute; but wouldn't use it.

"Is Chase ready for school?" she asked, side stepping the hands that reached for her again with a coquettish smile.

"Just putting his shoes on." Charlie managed to corner her and grab a few more kisses before she could stop him and she dissolved into giggles as his hand ran up and down her ticklish sides.

"Charlie!"

"Mmmm," he mumbled into her shoulder.

"Mommy?"

They broke away from each other to see Chase standing by the door with his shoes in his hands.

"What is it, angel?"

He held up his shoes. "The laces are in a knot."

Smiling ruefully at his wife and her hands covered with flour, he dropped to one knee and took the shoes in one hand, trying to undo the tangle.

Tinga smiled at her little family and dusted off her hands. With a quick glance at the clock she realised that she had far more time than she thought until the shop opened and she decided to take advantage of that.

Taking Chase into the lounge, she placed him on her knee and surveyed the puzzle that he was in the middle of doing.

It was a large jigsaw of a castle and Chase seemed to be picking it up quickly.

In fact, Chase was advanced in most things; she knew that his intelligence was far beyond his age group and his skills grew in leaps and bounds. She had to remind him not to go so fast and watched with unease when he raced the other children, far outstripping them.

Charlie was, of course, thrilled at the thought of a little Olympic genius but Tinga was becoming slightly nervous.

It was too early to worry needlessly about things but even now he was exhibiting odd symptoms of early transgenic abilities.

He had never been sick a day in his life, he had boundless energy and caught on things faster than anyone. He could program the VCR and computer and took his father's watch to pieces to see how it worked.

She would have to have a talk with him soon and it was one more secret that she would have to hide from Charlie.

She reached for a glass of milk she had left on the side and slowly sipped it, thinking of her husband.

Speaking of the devil, Charlie appeared in the doorway with the unlaced shoe dangling from his fingers. "Here ya go, sport."

Chase laughed and sat down to put his shoes on whilst his father sat by Tinga on the sofa.

"Penny for your thoughts, Penny?" he teased and even though she had heard his quip a hundred times it still made her smile.

"Just thinking how lucky I am to have you both."

Charlie smiled, touching the glass she held. "Maybe later we could get together and have lunch?"

Tinga eyed him. "I thought you were away this weekend?"

"I could postpone," he leaned over and kissed her neck sensually. "Punters will still be there tomorrow."

She held the glass away from his roaming hands and laughed. "But the sooner you leave, the sooner you can come back."

"Hmm," he was distracted by her skin and neither heard the shrill sound of the phone until the sound of Chase answering pulled at them.

"Hello, Smith residence."

Charlie laughed indulgently at Chase's grown up voice and even Tinga cracked a smile as she sipped her milk.

Chase listened for a moment and then turned around. "Mommy, it's for you. It's a strange man who says he's found your Maxie."

The glass slipped to the floor, smashing into pieces.

>>>>

The deep male voice hummed the lyrics as he threw the towel over his shoulder. "_She's my little whiskey Girl  
My Ragged-on-the-edges girl  
No Cuervo Gold Margaritas  
Just ain't enough good burn in tequila.  
She needs somethin' with a little more edge and a little more pain  
She's my little whiskey Girl. Ah, but I like 'em rough_."

"Yo, Spatoni, if you keep singing like that, you good for the next round of karaoke at the Fiver."

The singer smiled deeply and placed his welding tool on the desk carefully. "Thanks, Dee."

Dee grinned at him, pushing her jet black hair away from her eyes as she tucked her hands into her overalls. "Never woulda figured you for a country boy."

He let loose with a full blown grin, white teeth showing against heavily tanned, if grease streaked, skin. He pointed at the shiny red car he was working on. "Give me a fast car, open road and radio full of Clint, Toby and Hank and I'll show you a good time."

Dee blushed and was about to respond when the boss yelled out over the noise of sparks and welders.

"Spatoni?"

He looked up. "Yeah?"

"Phone."

He placed the towel over his neck again, swiping at his filthy hands on the frayed ends and rubbing at his sweat soaked face. Making his way to the head office he stopped briefly to swipe his thick boots on the rug before walking into his boss's space.

"Ain't no damn answering service," Howard said gruffly as he gestured to the phone. "Ain't you got an answering machine at home, boy?"

Looking down from his impressive height of six foot five, he shrugged at his grey haired boss.

"Nah, don't be holdin' with no new fangled contraptions."

Howard's eyes narrowed as he caught the gleam of mischief in his grey eyes. "Watch it, boy. Your ass isn't too big for a whupping."

Howard left with the sounds of deep chuckling in his ears.

The green plastic phone was hanging on the edge and he picked it up. "Hey, Spatoni here."

"Zane, It's Zack."

His large hands froze and he forced himself to visibly relax. "Hey Zack. Checking in?"

He raked a hand through his sweat slicked hair, hoping to goodness that Zack was just calling to check in. If one of them was dead or if Zack was going to bug him to move again, he take that Chevrolet and drive it through big brother's thick head. He was quite happy in his small town, fixing cars and watching his own back, thank you very much.

"Not really."

_Damn it all to hell and back in a Lydecker shaped basket_. Zane cursed inwardly. "So what's the news?"

Sometimes he got really annoyed at Zack's stoicism and need to use one word where an explanation would be more welcome.

"There's a situation and… and…oh shit."

Zane's eyes grew wide and he lost all of his smart- ass commentary in the wake of the truly unusual spectre of his brother losing his calmness.

"Zack, what is it?"

"Max. I found Max."

It was only his transgenic reflexes that aided Zane in not dropping the phone.

As it was he fumbled it badly and cursed in the six languages that he knew fluently as he sought to recapture the elusive object.

"Zane?" the dismembered voice called before Zane could gain purchase on the phone again.

"Did I hear you right?" Zane asked quickly. "You found her?"

"It was a mutual thing."

Zack seemed to have gone back to his usual laconic self, mused Zane at the short reply.

"And?" he prompted.

"Found Max."

"Yeah," Zane said, irritated. "I got that part. What happened? Is she okay? Where is she?"

"Accident, yes and here."

Zane slowly counted to ten in English… and then in French, German, Aramaic, Hungarian, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. He breathed deeply.

"Thank you for that truly illuminating answer, Zack."

"Come to Seattle again. Meet me in that old apartment that Ben showed us last time."

Zane grinned. "Yes, sir."

Zack put the phone down before he could say anything else but Zane was too pleased to be annoyed at his brother's lack of manners.

They had found Max—finally. Their family was almost complete again.

He walked out of the office with a huge smile on his face.

"Hey, Howard?"

The man turned with an unlit cigar in his hand. "What?"

"I need some time off—family emergency."

"Again?" Howard said sceptically.

Zane nodded knowing that Howard was thinking of the time about eight months ago that he had vanished for two weeks to break Max out of Manticore. If it wasn't for his dog, he wasn't sure if he'd have come back.

"I'll be a couple of weeks maximum."

Howard nodded. "Good thing it's a slow period, ain't it? Finish the Chevy and get gone."

Glad to have such an understanding boss, Zane picked up the welder and turned back to the cheery red Chevy.

Dee pouted. "You cruising off again, Spatoni?"

"Family emergency."

Dee's eyebrows rose. "Again?"

"Hey." Zane spread his hands. "What can I say? I have a weird family."

>>>>

"You're lying."

"I'm not!" Maria shot up. "I was born in 1985. I was twenty-one when the pulse hit. They never even asked me my age. It was in '05 that _he_ first approached me."

"He?"

"Sandeman… I forget his first name." Maria voice began to croak with the effort of talking and sniffling at the same time. "He was a mature senior student, late thirties maybe early forties, scary eyes and wild brown hair. He had the kind of 'mad professor' look down pat. Guess that should have been a dead give away, huh?"

Anna said nothing for a long moment and just watched. "So White captured you because you had the blood cells that Sandeman was looking for. He wanted to know why you were so resistant to the viruses inherent in delivering transgenics."

"Yeah, great," Maria said nastily. "I got tortured to make way for freaks."

"You got rescued by a freak," Anna spat and watched Maria's eyes grow wide. "So shut the fuck up."

"You're a mutant?"

"Transgenic," Anna corrected. "I'm gonna dump you in the nearest town, get your ass to a hospital because I don't give a shit what happens to you from here out. But just remember who saved your ass, bitch. Oh, and think on this—it was your greed and desperation that caused us to be born; you and every mercenary slut who opened her legs for medical science and a place in the sun. We never asked for any of that…oh," she added almost as an afterthought. "That luxurious place for your kids? Concentration camp for kiddies. Thanks _mom._"

Maria began to cry but Anna had used up all her patience and ignored her, looking into the distance to distract herself from this selfish woman in front of her.

"Sorry," she wept. "I didn't know."

"Somehow that doesn't make it any better," Anna replied bitterly.

"But he told me that you'd all be all right."

"He also told you that you'd be giving birth to an actual human baby," Anna retorted. "You believed anything he said after that? Bonus points for proving Darwin right. You really did descend from a monkey."

"He was so believable. He said that he had facilities for this all over the world," she sobbed. "I mean the guy was rich, okay, he was handing out cash like it was chocolate."

"Wait, wait, wait., back up. Facilities all over the world?"

Maria sniffed. "Yeah, he was always on his phone, speaking French and German and a load of other languages I don't know. He talked a lot to a woman called Renfro about, uh, some centre in Europe that they were fixing as a _deuxieme asile_?"

"Second haven?" Anna frowned, her French not as good as her other languages.

"He also said something about a place in Russia and a red army."

"The Reds," Anna breathed, her attention caught. "A worldwide army."

"God, this is like something about of a bad movie. This isn't real life," Maria rocked slowly backwards and forwards.

"This is as real as it gets. But you'll be out of it soon."

Maria's eyes went wide.

"Oh, relax. I'm not gonna kill you," Anna snapped. "First light, you go to town and, for hell's sake, keep your mouth shut this time, huh?"

Maria nodded frantically. "I promise."

"A word of warning. If things are going to go down the way I think they are, it will all get a hell of a lot realer soon enough. Think about what you've been through and who is to blame. It isn't freaks that have held you captive, it isn't mutants who have tortured you and it wasn't humans who saved you and made damn sure that you didn't die. You see that girl there?" She pointed to Ralph and Maria nodded. "She was born to be a fighting machine. She was tortured as a child and forced to learn to kill people under threat of murder and pain. She has been beaten and experimented on more than you and just as she was getting used to it, her home was burned down and she was pushed into this world where people like you hate her and want her dead. None of this is her fault, and yet she risked her life to save you last night and stayed awake, exhausting herself so you didn't die on her watch, and you have the temerity to stand there and tell me that_ she_ is a monster?"

Maria cried harder at the disgusted look on Anna's face proclaiming her intense hatred for the woman at her feet.

"At least she's never sold her flesh and blood for a cup of soup and a warm pillow."

Maria's sobs grew louder until Anna heard Ralph rustling in her bed.

"Anna?" she muttered sleepily.

"I haven't had coffee yet," Anna warned her, her eyes still intent on Maria.

"I'll make it," she said, far more subdued than Anna could ever remember her being.

But, of course, the events of yesterday were as clear in her mind as they had been in Anna's.

"Don't say anything about this to her," she said lowly to Maria. "Not about freaks, mutants or monsters. If one word passes your lips I will carve you up and leave you for White to find."

Maria's eyes grew wide as Anna got up and moved away, her hands trembling with the force of her anger.

_They forced me to give birth to a mutant… a freak six legs_

_Scratches of claw-marks… from inside_

_A nightmare _

_Monsters inside me_

_I dreamt of them ripping themselves out of me, clawing their way free and eating me._

She wasn't a freak; wasn't a monster. Half human maybe, but at least she had never sold her flesh and blood for cash.

She heard Ralph pottering around their things, clanking cans and bottles, earnestly making breakfast and the sound soothed her.

She turned, leaning against the rough bark of the tree and watched her blonde side-kick as she ran through the smooth mechanics of the morning routine.

It was odd how used she had become to Ralph's presence in her life. The little things that used to annoy her had become almost comforting. She actually didn't mind the chattering, sometimes it was even amusing.

She found the presence of someone else in the night to be quite comforting on occasion and she thanked Manticore that she didn't have to do her own cooking.

Ralph was still pale from the events of yesterday and Anna felt quite a pang at her own actions.

Maria's words about desperation leading her to accept the words of a madman and leaving her child to die had guilt pressing against Anna's heart as she watched the small child she had taken in. She would never have left the girl there with White and couldn't shake the feeling that Ralph wasn't as sure of that. Of course, she had as much as told Ralph that she was expendable.

No wonder the poor girl looked shaken.

Anna made her way over to the girl as she placed the metal coffee pot on the tripod and set fire to the dry leaves she hade made into a triangle.

"Works better if you add some smaller twigs on top."

"I know," Ralph said quietly and Anna winced at the fragility in her tone, a far cry from the confident girl who had told her that she would come with her come hell or high water.

"We need to talk about yesterday."

"I didn't break camp," Ralph said. "I did what you said and checked the periphery and I … took care of the camp. I didn't even spark a light. He came on me from the back. I didn't even see him." There were tears in her voice, but her head remained bowed to the ground. "I didn't disobey you. I'm sorry that I screwed things up, but it wasn't on purpose." her voice diminished to a whisper. "Please don't leave me here."

Anna closed her eyes, a suspicious heat burning behind them. "I—I, I think we should," she paused as Ralph's hands began to shake. "Stop that." she ordered.

"Sorry," whispered Ralph tearfully.

"Damn it, I hate it when you cry."

"Sorry," Ralph's voice was so quiet that even her transgenic hearing had trouble picking it up.

Anna dropped to a crouch and grabbed Ralph's chin, raising wet eyes to her own. "Stop it. What happened wasn't your fault and I don't blame you for it, no matter what my foul temper says."

Ralph swiped at her face with a closed fist. "Really?"

"Yeah," Anna said tiredly. "You followed orders and things went pear shaped. It wasn't your fault and I don't blame you. In fact—" she took a deep breath. "I… apologise."

Ralph stilled. "What?"

"I told you that if anything happened to you that I wouldn't step in. No matter what and that you were on your own."

Ralph nodded sadly.

Anna pursed her lips and looked away. "I'm a loner, kid, you know that. Manticore made me that way for a reason. Doesn't mean I won't step up to bat for you."

Ralph watched her. "Will you?"

That was the question. Would Anna put herself out for someone else? Would she take on the responsibility that came with the young girl? Or would she be like Maria and turn her back on her own kind, to save herself?

She wasn't like that.

"When I told White to kill you; that you meant nothing to me… it was a lie."

There was a sudden silence that seemed to echo through the trees at that confession. "I wouldn't have let him kill you, but I had to say that to distract him and make him drop his guard. It was vital but—" Anna frowned. There was something that she wasn't saying to Ralph and she wasn't sure how to come out with it.

"Manticore always told us that we were expendable," she said finally. "We're not. I don't want you to think that you're expendable because of something I said when I was being a bitch."

She watched as Ralph rubbed her stomach. "You don't think I'm worthless then?"

Anna shook her head. "No."

There were more tears in Ralph's voice as she spoke. "Manticore always said that the mission was more important than we were. My Unit ran when the flames hit and they left me alone to burn and… and the ones I did escape with, they were fine with leaving me alone. I'm sick of people abandoning me." She looked up and Anna was horrified to see the pain deep in eyes too old for her face. "I don't feel worthless but everyone treats me like that and pushes me away. I want to be like you," Ralph brushed her tears away almost fiercely. "I wish I was like you and people didn't matter. I wish I didn't care about anyone or what they thought. People hurt."

Anna couldn't swallow the lump that materialised in her throat. "Shi…" her voice trailed off.

She knew exactly how the girl had felt. It had been a while since she was in Ralph's position but she could recall exactly what it was like to have the people that were supposed to love her turn her away; first BJ and then the rest of the Unit when he was taken away. She had tried to make them like her again. She had gone out of her way to take their patrols or cover for them, but all she got was the cold shoulder and their unwilling thanks.

It had been months and even years of rejection before she had turned inwards, not letting anyone in and becoming the woman that she was now.

She had learnt the hard way that people were not to be trusted, but that didn't mean that she didn't long for someone who she could trust, who she could like and let in. But it was too late now.

A rejected child made for a lost, lonely and bitter woman.

Cynicism was one of the hardest habits to shake and her fierce protection of herself and her heart would never be easily penetrated. She was a bitch and no matter how much self-discovery she tried for or how much she analysed herself she knew that it was too late to do anything about the bitterness that surrounded her.

But it wasn't too late to stop someone else from going down the same path.

She reached forward and grabbed the blonde transgenic and pulled her into her arms, rocking instinctively as she knew Max or Tara would have done in her place. Ralph broke into noisy sobs onto her shoulder and Anna just held on tightly, her own eyes shining, trying to atone for past mistakes that couldn't be undone.

>>>>

Syl rubbed idly at the tension headache that was cropping up again.

"It is illegal to kill students. It is illegal to kill students. It is illegal to kill students," she repeated her mantra.

"But how often do we worry about illegalities?" Krit said with a grin as he slung his leg over the back of her sofa.

He had been waiting for her when she got home from school and had dinner ready.

However, the only lunch she was interested in was a liquid one and she nursed the whisky and attempted to correct essays. She hoped that the grades would get better with every sip.

They didn't.

"Hah, hah," she deadpanned and threw her pen at him. "As role model to the children I teach it is my duty to at least present a facade of respectability." She paused. "No matter how much I want to kick their ignorant, skinny little asses to hell and back."

Krit pouted. "Oh, what have the little angels done now?"

"I would like to take Mack Dreyfuss and introduce him to the anomalies," she bit out as she picked up her reports files and pulled at the red chewing gum sticking four of the papers together. "No, I would like to give him to Lydecker and then take him out with a harvest mower."

"Nice," Krit winced. "Not very creative."

"I would carve him into little pieces and then I would post those pieces to his mother with a note saying "Even Darwin would agree"." She continued as if he had never interrupted. "He is without doubt the most heinous child in creation."

Krit reached over to the glass she held in one hand and pulled it away from her. "Mack Dreyfuss isn't at the top of your worries list."

"No," Syl sighed and rolled her head on her shoulders.

"Have you heard back?"

She shook her head quickly and looked out of the window.

Krit made a sympathetic noise but said nothing. He knew how much she hated pity and wasn't going to say anything that would have her picking up the sofa and throwing it at him.

Again.

As it was there was little that he could say. What had occupied Syl was the notion that she could start to teach older children; preferably ones who had got out of the 'let's paint a bulls eye on the girl's back because they have cooties' phase.

She had submitted her application for collegiate studies in the hopes that her dual degrees in psychology and sociology would stand her for a lecturing poison in college.

She had been expecting to hear from the Dean of a local college sometime in the next week.

Which was why they both jumped when the phone rang.

Syl stared at it. "Shit."

It rang again. And again.

"Uh, aren't you gonna pick it up?" Krit said in amusement.

"Sure!" Syl jumped up and picked up the receiver. "Hello, Sylvia Crayford here."

"Syl. Zack."

Syl rolled her eyes as her shoulders slumped. "Tarzan, Jane."

"What?"

"I'm kinda waiting for a phone call big brother, can't this wait?"

"No."

Krit frowned at her initial greeting but when she spoke again his eyes widened and he jumped up as if expecting Zack to walk in any moment. Syl grimaced at him.

"So spill and then get off my line."

"Fine. Found Max, come to Seattle. Succinct enough for ya, Syl?"

Syl didn't say a word as her jaw had dropped, resembling some of the smarter ones of her students. "Say what?"

"Ben's apartment in Seattle." There was a minute pause. "And tell Krit."

Syl opened her mouth to deny that Krit was there but Zack had already put the phone down.

Krit looked at her shell-shocked face in concern. "Syl?"

She looked back with wide eyes. "Guess who's home?"

>>>>

"You found Max?" Jondy yelled into the receiver. "No shit?"

Zack winced from his end of the phone. "Do you have to yell?"

Jondy looked towards the bar where the latest addition to their nightlife stood, screaming her lungs out to the moshing crowd.

She grinned. "Trust me, its better not to hear what's going on here. But seriously, you found our Maxie-girl?"

"Yeah, come to Seattle. Okay? The place Ben found."

"Okay," she paused. "Are you okay with this, Zack?"

She heard the hesitation on the end of the line.

"She's surrounded by people… transgenics," he clarified and then bit out. "She's practically putting down roots. It's not safe."

"With so many out, maybe she doesn't need safe. She needs strength."

"That's what she said," Zack added shortly.

Jondy waited patiently knowing that she was the only one who Zack ever confided in. It came as a result of hanging out in the hottest bar in San Francisco and listening to drunk and freaks all night moaning about their on-again, off-again relationship with their mother/ brother/ girlfriend/ boyfriend/ therapist. She was a damn good listener.

"It's dangerous for our kind to remain stationary," he finally said. "But she seems to have made it work. She commands respect."

"Max?"

"Yeah," he laughed, also thinking of the dark headed girl who pouted her way into people's affections as a child. "She does a good job from what I can see. That's why I want you all down here. I need you to see her and try to convince her that the only way forward is to scatter."

_Ah_. Jondy had wondered why he was recalling them. It couldn't be that he finally wanted them all together and in one place. No, it had to be so that he could inflict his rules and regulations on more of them. Jondy felt a wave of pure frustration at her brother and had to smother it before she exploded at him and his rigidity.

"Well, maybe," she hedged, "maybe Max has already decided what she wants."

"Her… decisions show her lack of taste. Just come, Jon, okay?"

And with that Zack put the phone down, leaving Jondy to wonder what he meant by that comment.

>>>>

The elderly couple watched as he loaded the last of his things into the truck.

"Will you be okay?" she said worriedly, her silver hair glistening in the bright sun as she clasped her husbands hand.

Ash turned around and gave her a bright smile. "I'll be fine, Martha, don't worry. I'll only be a few weeks and then back here as fast as I can. In fact, I'll probably be back before the wheat comes in."

"Good," muttered Joe. "I need all the hands I can, come harvesting."

Ash nodded at the two people who had been almost like parents to him since he had arrived on the Iowa farm. He patted the hood of his truck with his usual humour. "Gracie will get me there and back safely."

"Damn truck," Joe said gruffly, masking his emotions behind the hard exterior. It was one of the reasons that Ash felt so comfortable around him. "One day I gotta meet that brother of yours," he stated. "I'll give him what for, ordering you halfway across the world at a moments notice."

Ash imagined the confrontation between his boss and best friend and the brother who thought he owned him.

He laughed.

"Yes," Martha said sweetly. "I want to meet Zack too. Tell him to come over and I'll fix him pie."

And she probably would, too. Martha was so sweet she'd offer to feed half the world if she could and wouldn't hesitate to tell Zack to take it easy.

Zack might bristle against Joe's gruff demeanour but even Lydecker himself would be wrong-footed by the sweet Martha Haywood. Despite her seemingly scatty attitude and adorable ways, she had a way of wrapping you around her finger without you realising it.

It had come as a shock when the young Ash had found himself not only working for the Haywood's but also living with and caring for them.

Joe said that it had been an equal shock to find himself married to Martha. If she were a man she would rule the world, eradicate hunger, poverty, war and make sure that everyone washed their hands before meals.

Lydecker could learn a thing or two from her.

"Why do you have to go now?" Martha said, looking up at the sky. "It looks like rain."

"Family emergency," Ash shrugged. "I should go now to avoid traffic in town."

"Damn city slickers," Joe spat and Ash hid a grin at the thought of the Iowa town of population 600 being called a 'city'. For a brief moment he toyed with the idea of taking Joe to Seattle and showing him a real city, but declined on the basis that he couldn't take that much cussing.

"Well, you drive carefully, now," Martha smiled gently. "I've packed you a lunch, in the front seat and remember to take your vitamins."

Ash slid into the front seat. "Yes, ma'am."

She waved and he pulled away. "Bye now. Have a nice trip and I hope it's nothing too serious."

"Just come back!" Joe hollered.

Ash laughed as he pulled away from the farm… his home.

He only hoped he'd see it again.

>>>>

The sounds of the night drifted up to Dek as he sat on what he now considered "his place" on the rooftop. He could hear revellers below celebrating the return of lost loved ones, beloved Unit members and cherished COs. The cacophony of laughter, cheers and conversation flittered up to his ears and he closed his eyes, trying to shut them out.

He was in no mood to make merry.

Oh, he was glad enough that BJ had made it back, he was happy to see both Emma and Zan, and he was glad that Flex had returned. But there was something that had kept him from joining in the laughter at Cece's hormones; that kept him from reminiscing on Pix's practical jokes and held him back from teasing Alec over Flex, Zack and Zeph's attachment to Max.

Drew wasn't there.

Actually, he was kind of disgusted with himself that just because he had never lived without Drew didn't mean that he couldn't live without her.

With each day that passed when he didn't hear either from or about her, it seemed that he would have to learn to live without her and it was killing him.

Dek turned up the collar of his worn leather jacket to ward against the cold that was insistent on creeping deep down into his veins. He wrapped his arms around his knees and shivered as the chilly breeze ruffled his hair, momentarily contemplating having it cut.

He had originally let his dark blond hair grow long as a sort of passive rebellion against Manticore. Now, on the outside, it was just far too much bother to worry about cutting it off—plus it covered his barcode; a good thing now, or so it appeared.

Why on earth he was thinking about something as ridiculously unimportant as that was beyond him, unless it was just to fill up his day so that he could avoid thinking about Drew.

Not that it worked.

There was a yell from far below that caught his attention momentarily but it faded as quickly as it had been captured and he glanced back up at the glistening stars, cursing his insomnia.

Maybe he should go and put himself on one of the security rotas that he pushed Aiden into; at least it would give him something to do.

He was about to start enumerating ways he could get out of the morning meeting when he felt it.

Slow prickles along the base of his spine, itching in his fingers and a throbbing on his neck, just above his ever-cursed barcode.

It was like every nerve ending was suddenly on fire and every inch of his skin crawled like a million fire-ants marching in formation.

His heart pounded and the ice-cold wind rushed over his face even before he realised he was moving. His feet slammed onto the concrete as he reached for the roof-door, wrenching it open with so much force that it shattered against the outer wall, sending shards of rotten wood splinters flying through the air, narrowly missing him.

He barely noticed his surroundings as he blurred down the stairs scattering an upcoming group of X8s like mini-skittles. He ignored their curses as he barrelled out into the night air, heading for central command.

Even the battle-hardened guards on security and guard duty took one look at the approaching transgenic and stepped aside, even opening the doors for him when it was abundantly clear that he wouldn't take the time to do so himself.

He raced into central command and took the dais in one jump, his hand reached for the door to Pix's office…

And stopped one inch from the handle.

He couldn't bring himself to touch it, even though his whole body cried out for him to open that door; to find out the truth.

Dek's breathing physically hurt his chest as he stared at the wood willing himself to broach it.

_Open it._

He wouldn't.

_Open it._

He **_couldn't._**

"Hey, Dek."

His heart froze and one, jagged breath was dragged unwillingly from his lungs.

He turned slowly.

"Hey, Drew."

And there she was; long dark hair cascading over one shoulder, tight jeans encasing long, lean legs, leather jacket and black shirt. His gaze lifted to her face, her teeth biting her lower lip in uncertainty and eyes suspiciously damp.

A tremulous smile touched her lips and his heart began to beat again.

"Oh, god, Drew!"

He opened his arms and she ran into them, tucking her head under his chin like she was made to fit there, and breathing deeply of his scent.

Dek buried his face in her silky hair and inhaled, drinking in the familiar scent of cinnamon and berries that reminded him of warm winter afternoons.

Drew felt his hands tremble as they held her tightly.

"Missed you," he mumbled into her hair and she laughed damply.

"Yeah, me, too."

She pulled back slightly to look into his deep blue 'need-you' eyes and was more than taken aback to see them swimming in tears.

"Dek?" She reached up, touching his face in wonder, brushing away the errant tears with her thumb.

"I—I—," he stammered, searching for the words but settled for drawing her close and bending his head as she tangled her fingers on his hair and raised her lips to his.

>

Ben watched from the edge of central command, half shrouded in dark shadow and watched Drew and Dek's tender embrace.

His jaw was tight with suppressed emotion; his hands jammed into his pockets to stop them reaching for someone's neck.

His deep green eyes glittered with an unnamed emotion as Dek pulled away from Drew.

"'Oh, Drew,'" Ben mocked sotto voice. "'I have something to tell you.'"

As he watched, Drew took a step backwards and gestured as Dek shifted from foot to foot.

"'I have something to tell you too,'" Ben continued in a higher octave. "'But you obviously need to go first… or need the bathroom.'"

Dek jammed one hand into his pocket and pointed with the other.

"'No, you go, I can hold it.' 'Are you sure? I know you have premature ex-planations?'" Ben grinned evilly.

Drew took a deep breath and blurted something out. Ben raised an eyebrow and improvised.

"'While you were gone, doofus, I've been sleeping with a gorgeous transgenic called Ben who is suspiciously like Max's boyfriend—except sexier. We've fallen in love and I'm dumping you for him.'" Ben's voice dropped sadly. "'We were happy and I hate you, doofus.'"

He watched as Dek stilled and swallowed, glancing at the floor whilst Drew waited nervously. Her hand reached out for Dek, only to drop millimetres away without making contact.

Ben continued, more subdued. "'He's a far better man than you, doofus, and we'll be happy. Don't be sad, doofus.'"

Dek suddenly looked up and spoke sheepishly.

"'It's all right, Drew. I'm only jealous. You see, I'm actually gay.'"

Drew stumbled and gestured to Pix's office where they had left Max only moments ago.

"'I knew it!'" he adlibbed. "'All the signs were there; the Poofy hair, the weirdly matched clothes and effeminate ways. Even Max noticed that you speak in a squeaky way and have an unnatural relationship with hair gel!'"

Dek shrugged his shoulders in a bashful manner and Drew punched his shoulder.

"'That's why you were checking out… Zack's ass, jerk!'" Ben slyly added but as Dek grabbed Drew's hands and pulled her close, cradling her cheek and stroking one long strand of hair behind her ear, his face fell and he grew quiet again, silently cursing them and his luck, before melting back into the shadows again.

>>>>

Anna had dropped Maria as near to the hospital as she could without being seen and walked away from the woman as fast as she could, without a backwards glance.

She was more than glad to be rid of that woman and all she stood for.

Leaving Ralph to gorge herself at the local café with a promise to be back, Anna headed to the nearest payphone. A quick snap of some wires had her into free mode and she dialled the number of the only working payphone within hearing distance of Terminal City that she could remember.

The phone rang and she waited.

Hundreds of miles away in Seattle a small boy looked at the ringing phone and inched forward to pick up the receiver.

"Yeah?" he inquired nasally.

"Is this a transgenic?" the voice said without preamble.

"Who wan's ta know?"

"X5- 291 and your superior."

The small boy snapped to attention. "Sorry ma'am."

"Who is this?"

"Uh…Rat, Street-rat," he said the name that most people had yelled at him his few months out of Manticore.

"Well…Rat, I need you to go to central command and get whoever is in charge... Pix probably. X5-418 or maybe Feen, X5-555. Tell them that Anna has some vital information to impart. I will call back in ten minutes. Got that? This is imperative."

"Yes, ma'am. I'll go now!"

Anna grimaced as the phone was dropped hastily into the cradle and she placed the receiver down, thinking deeply.

Obviously, this whole thing was far bigger than any of them had ever suspected. What with White working against whatever it was that Sandeman was doing and now bases and branches of Manticore spreading all over the world, what had been a simple 'eliminate White' ideal had suddenly become so much more.

Why was Sandeman gearing up for an all over the world army? What was the purpose of the people White was working for and what did it have to do with certain blood immunity?

More to the point, what was she going to do about it, if anything?

The old Anna would have shrugged her shoulders and walked away, not really intending to do much. But the new Anna, the Anna that had been forged by the incessant chattering of Ralph, the Anna that had been held helpless under White, the Anna that had seen the face of true evil in a file as long as her arm and twice as dangerous; this Anna would not, _could not_, stand by and let this happen.

Not when it could be within her power to stop it.

_We can be more than what they made us. We are more than a designation._

"Yeah," she whispered and redialled.

The phone was answered on the first ring.

"Anna?"

She frowned trying to place the voice. "Max?"

"Hey, girl, you okay? We've been worried."

Anna closed her eyes glad to hear Max's voice, even if they never really got on. She felt a sudden urge to be back there, surrounded by people who knew her, even if they didn't really like her. She wanted to pour her heart out to Max and explain what was going on, what had happened and what she felt; all of the changes that she was going through.

"I—," she started but the words got stuck as tears welled up in her throat.

"Anna?" Max said, concerned.

"Good to hear your voice," she managed. "Things have been… shit."

Max laughed and Anna's burden was lifted somewhat. "When are you coming home?"

"I'm not and I have something to tell you."

Once she started the story she couldn't stop until every last piece had been extracted. She spoke about White capturing her in the abandoned warehouse and about the tests that she had sabotaged. She explained about the children and was relieved when Max told her that they'd arrived. She told her about Ralph and had Max laughing at some of their altercations. She then told her about the facility and Maria and, for the first time, she voiced all of her fears about being like the callous woman only to be relieved by Max.

"No, you were never like that, Anna. None of us were ever given the chance to deal with social issues and we're all learning. We make a mistake…that's the human part of us. Don't cling to mistakes or what we could have done. Manticore told us that it clouds the mission, but what it does is cloud the emotions and stops us going forward and that's what we have to do. Our lives at Manticore are over now, Anna. We need to press onwards… on to a new life, a new way of being and a new way of living. Don't let Manticore hold you back. Live, change and move forward."

Anna nodded slowly, taking Max's words into her heart. "Ever pressing onwards?"

"Yeah."

There was silence as they both took in what was being said, and what wasn't.

"Are you coming back now?"

"No," Anna quickly outlined her plan to Max and waited for the approval that came in torrents. Max filled her in with the information that she had gleaned from her various sources in Seattle and they compared the two, coming up with more detailed plans.

It wasn't until the sudden onset of shivers told her that the temperature had fallen did she look up to find that night had fallen and she realised that they had been talking for hours.

"Shit, I've left Ralph at the café," she said suddenly and Max laughed.

"The poor girl will think you've left her there."

"No, she won't," Anna asserted confidently. "But I have to go, now," she paused. "If you see B.J. tell him that I said 'hi', okay?"

"Will do."

"Bye then."

"Bye."

A pause and then. "Anna?"

"Yeah?"

"Stay safe, sister."

Anna closed her eyes at the reminder of family. "Thank you, Max."

She placed the receiver down slowly and walked over to the café where Ralph was still waiting nervously.

"Hey," she said as she slid into the booth. "Anything good here?"

"Pancakes," Ralph smiled, relieved beyond measure that her faith hadn't been mislaid. "Add maple syrup and they are good."

Anna nodded and sat back silently.

Ralph waited as the waitress brought over more coffee and she placed an order for more food, jus watching Anna as she though things through.

Once the food had arrived Anna seemed to come out of her slump and stared at Ralph.

"So, what now? Are we going after White again?"

Anna shook her head. "As much as I want to kill his ass, we have bigger fish to fry."

Silently hugging the 'we' to herself, Ralph pushed pancakes towards Anna. "And?"

"How are you at languages?" Anna gave her a sharp look and Ralph preened.

"Now in foreign languages I excelled. I may puke at the sight of blood but no one could best me at linguistics. 12 fluent, 6 pigeon and twenty variations. Pick it up in a snap." She clicked her fingers.

Anna smirked. "Good thing I'm taking you with me, then."

Ralph broke into a huge smile. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Where?"

"Sandeman expanded his operation. Worldwide."

"Worldwide Manticore?" Ralph's eyes were wide. "Ouch."

Anna picked up her fork and stabbed the pancakes. "Mmm, good."

Ralph waited for Anna to explain. And waited.

Anna held out until it looked like Ralph would burst before swallowing and saying simply. "It's got to stop. I want it done. Every injury and injustice is to be stopped and I want answers, dammit. I want to know if this barcode comes with an expiry date. I want to know why he mixed the kitty cat with the canine. I want to know what he was thinking. I want to know how he did it and more than that, I want to know why."

Ralph was impressed. "So what are we doing?"

Anna eyed her for a long moment. "We are going to Europe… to find Sandeman."

Ralph's jaw dropped. "We are? And then what?"

"We are going to stop Manticore, once and for all."

**The End.**

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**Major thanks to everyone who has ever reviewed for this fic. The props to my original characters has not only been surprising but inspiring. Your reviews have given me the confidence to start my own book, knowing that you like my style and the characters that I create—THANK YOU TO ALL.**

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SGOU- The trouble is that there are so many characters and so many different scenarios that we are reacting to that its hard to fit in some of our favourite moments. The Flex/Skye one was sprung on me but fast became my fave scene of all that. Had to pair Drew with someone and the Dek/Drew-ers had more creative threats. Ahh Manticore's less serious threat of 'threaten everyone with Pink transgenics in a Barbie kind of way' shame it didn't go down well, because I would have caved. I love the Greeks watch for more of them in SF.

Angel of darkness231- How about this one? Even longer! Aren't I good to you?

Mae- Awww babe, so sorry you have bad allergies. My dad likes to take the hose out to cats. Hope you had great hols.

Ladybug- Way past time! LOL.

Ganko- I did add that specifically—I'm mean that way. Poor Pix…of course it could be worse for him. Here are some 09ers for ya to feast on and enjoy!

Lyndsay- Ben and Ice-cream—oh I think I can imagine. In fact I've probably had some of the same dreams. Been/Dek and Icecream. Going to go away and drool now. EEE! I got someone hooked on Eve Dallas! Those books are fab aren't they? I adore Rourke, he's delicious in an icecream kinda way. And the way she fights with her computer is classic!

Starr Light1- Well you'll love the next part of SF then, meetings galore.

Moonlite Star- I love the Greeks, gotta say I have a huge crush on Isacar despite the fact that he is 13. I adore him! Family reunions do rock…unless you are my family in which case you just have a head like one.

L80bug- I know I can't believe we are done with this half, it's been a wild ride I have to say! The trouble is that there is so much story left to write, I'm starting to feel like George Lucas—he of the never-ending "trilogy". If you remember a lot of the kids got sent away with various older ones, like Cece's Harley, so look forward to seeing them too.

Amelya- Thank you pet, and thanks for reviewing. You like Drew and Ben? They do mix well together don't they?

Blue Angel37- Everyone has to love Mr Darcy! He's just gorgeous—in any incarnation. We are family… damn now I have that song in my head. I think that Deck and White have other things on their mind and didn't even notice the broadcast! Dumbasses. As for ending the story…

BR9- Hope you had a great Birthday sweetheart, more SF soon.

Kim- oh lord, can you imagine putting Isacar with BJ? Or Zeph and Mole? How scary would that be? Aiden has a wonderful surprise from all of us that love him.

Lotamoxie- you were right, Drew and Ben are some of the last to get reunioned. Ohh Ben and Alec gotta write THAT scene. Now. Yes Aiden and Nyx are gonna be a pairing- what do you think to that?

Meri24- thank you pet, glad you like. Ugh Aiden and Cece- gross.

Tonibo- am I going to do another sequel? Uhh possibly not. There is a lot more to say but I do have other DA fics to write. I might come back to this one day.

Brett- I've find that with dialogue it helps to say it out loud. I'm always talking to my computer as a character. It's like acting without the stage fright. Good luck with it!

Mae- boy are you excited or something?

RoxyRoo- Thanks pet, ooh no, not Icarus, somehow that would be wrong, considering she is only 13. Now Nyx, she's a nice age and Flex's favourite!

Sakura- LOL. Honey if you want to fight with Nyx, you can have Aiden. Thanks for the kudos, hope you liked this one too.

Pinkflipflop3- I hope that this chapter wasn't a disappointment, it doesn't have the Greeks, but every Anna fan will enjoy. A Dek/Ben showdown sounds nice.

Messymissy- Cheers pet, Zan is so much happier once he finds Max and I think she'll have more men vying for her attention than she knows what to do with!

Pixie Wildfire- Chase is obviously one of the less smart transgenics. There are very little men stranger than Lydecker and he accepts sweets. shakes head sadly at youth of today, before going off to run with scissors

Fadingphantom- Good luck with those exams- what are you taking? Nope, there is something brewing between Nyx and Aiden- ain't it cute? Hehehe Pix is in charge- didn't expect that! Hope you liked this and yes, Pride and Prejudice is taking over the world which is. A. good. Thing. Imagine lots of Mr Darcy!

BlueJean452- Cheers pet, there will be plenty of BJ/Jace etc in SF, not here since this is now done!

Aleja21- Thank you pet, hope you like the next SF.

Geminangel- They are cute, aren't they? I'm kinda collecting all the sequels/prequels and parallels to Pride and Prejudice at the moment, call it something of an obsession.

KrzyRiver- Hey well done for reviewing and THANK YOU. LOL, I think I'll have to give Aidan lots more work to do, especially if it gets you to review wink That picture of Tara is actually a very very young Elle McPherson. Looks odd doesn't she?

Sigma1- I'm glad you are happy with that. LOL, poor Ben, we who have little connection with reality have to stick up for each other! Thank you for the pic you did!

Crazy-Vampire Slayer- Hehe Pix in charge- getting a kick out of that.


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